Zero Archive: Subject R1 Revisited
by Xelrog
Summary: I am known as Zero, god of truth and passion. It is my mission to enlighten those who are lost to themselves by reawakening the passions that lay dormant in the heart of Man. This archive continues where my previous entry on R1 ended. Though I had previously labeled this project inconclusive, I have decided to see it through to its natural conclusion. (WARNING: Adult content)
1. Introduction

The name of this subject is Ryuunosuke Fujinami. 17 years old; skin, fair; hair, black. A peculiar case, Ryuunosuke is a young woman who has been raised as a boy since birth by her eccentric (if not outright insane) father, who is consumed by his desire for a male heir. Because of their dysfunctional relationship, she has known nothing but violence and disappointment throughout the majority of her life.

I, Zero, took it upon myself to offer Ryuunosuke a better life. She has since separated from her father and, due to a series of circumstances, started attending school nude. This seems to have dealt a serious psychological blow to her father, who has not harassed her since. Though I had originally deemed my regular form of training to be too much for Ryuunosuke, she has come far, and I am now considering making a second attempt as master and disciple.


	2. Chapter 1: Ryuunosuke

Ataru Moroboshi was a lech. Mendou wasn't much more subtle.

The two hovered casually around Ryuunosuke's desk like they had been doing every morning since she had started attending class naked. It may have served to keep her bastard father off her back, but it came with a whole new set of problems, too.

"Man, why can't you idiots be more like them?"

Ryuunosuke pointed to the front of the class, where Megane and his gang all sat, face forward, trying their best not to look back at Ryuunosuke. They were all faithful Lum followers, sworn to her till the end of time… but even that didn't stop Megane's glasses from fogging up. The situation would take the whole class some time to get used to.

"I can't help it, Ryuu-chan," Ataru giggled through his creepy, content smile. "You're just too cute to be sitting all by yourself~!"

"I told you to stop calling me that," Ryuu scolded, annoyance in her voice. In the past she probably would have knocked him out the window for bothering her, but she'd gotten much better at controlling her temper since she had started living away from her father.

"Moroboshi, can't you see that you're bothering the lady?" Mendou postured in his usual arrogant fashion. "Of course she would be offended by such childish monikers. Certainly a better description would be… captivating? Beautiful?"

Mendou smiled his own sparkly pretty-boy smile in yet another attempt to be charming. Emphasis on "attempt."

"You're both startin' to get on my nerves…" Ryuunosuke gritted.

Fortunately, before things could escalate, a few thousand volts and an arm lock found their way to Ataru and Mendou, respectively, courtesy of Lum and Shinobu. Both had a little bit of a jealous streak when it came to their men, flirtatious as they might be, and Shinobu was also a good friend of Ryuunosuke's who was willing to step in and lend her a hand when needed.

"You've been ogling her all week!" Lum shouted.

"Enough is enough!" followed Shinobu.

Ryuu sighed. Even with all that had happened in her life, nothing ever really changed, did it? This bunch was always the same.

Before the boys could try their hand at an apology, the intercom buzzed to life, catching everyone's attention.

"Ryuunosuke Fujinami, to the principal's office at once. Ryuunosuke Fujinami to the principal's office."

In an instant, all eyes were on Ryuu, as everyone murmured and wondered about what she could've done wrong. Maybe the principal was going to try to talk her out of this whole nudist thing… or maybe this was about beating up her father. Both were pretty recent events. As whispers began to spread throughout the classroom concerning various possibilities, Ryuu suddenly felt less welcome, and made for the office post haste.

The principal was a man of enormous patience, almost never fazed by anything that came his way. It was incredibly rare that anyone was called to his office—in fact, the students wondered if he did anything in there at all besides drink tea with a giant ghost cat. It would befit Tomobiki High, "the high school ripe for lawsuits," to be led by a principal who did nothing, wouldn't it?

Well, as it were, this visit was neither about Ryuunosuke nor her education. It was about her father.

 _If you are reading this note, then I am already gone.  
I can no longer bear to be seen at Tomobiki High.  
I have gone on a journey alone to find myself,  
as any man must do in times of hardship.  
Please do not look for me. I shall return, one day,  
when I have found what it is I am looking for._

 _Ryuunosuke has become independent and strong.  
I now know he does not need me.  
But if he should find himself falling on hard times,  
it is my hope that he, too, will embark on a manly journey  
much like my own. Then, perhaps, our paths may cross again._

"He," it said… the old man never changed, still referring to Ryuunosuke in the masculine. Still, the scrawlings on the note came as a shock to Ryuunosuke. She knew the fight with her father had shaken the old man up, but to think he would just up and leave his whole life behind for a life on the road…

"This, of course, means that the student store is now unmanned," the principal said with his back to Ryuunosuke.

"Huh?"

"Oh, nothing," he recovered. "Just musing. We'll have to hire a new storekeeper. More importantly, Ryuunosuke, I thought you would want to see this note as soon as it was discovered."

"I see… well, thanks, old man," she said, somewhat insincerely. It was true, she was glad she had been told about what her pop was doing, but if there was anything that made her wary, it was her father's word. No matter how dramatic or eloquent his note had been, it was entirely possible that it was some sort of trap the old man was trying to set for Ryuu. He was probably trying to entice her to follow him to his life on the road, as lousy an attempt as it was.

"Was that all?"

"That's it," the principal answered. "You can return to your class, now."

* * *

"Hey! Zero!"

Ryuunosuke slammed open the front door of their small home with her usual reckless fervor. She scanned the main area of the house for her roommate, the god who had graciously given her this new home, life, and independence. Well… relative independence, anyway.

"What, what is it? Why the excitement?" Zero's voice echoed, turning the corner from the kitchen area. When he saw Ryuu's somber expression, he knew she had something on her mind.

The two sat down with some hot green tea.

"My dad's gone," Ryuu told him, bluntly.

"Gone how? He didn't off himself, did he?"

"N-no!" she replied, appalled. As much as Ryuu hated her father, he was the only one she had. She still maintained some faint hope, however small, that he might someday see the light and acknowledge her for who she was.

"So he left town, then," Zero concluded.

"On a mission of self-discovery, or some kinda crap like that."

"I see…" Zero trailed. "That would explain it, then…"

"Eh? Explain what?" Ryuu's curiosity was piqued. Zero was doing that "intentionally vague" thing again.

"Oh, right, that, well," he said. "I suppose it's not a secret. You'll never guess where I managed to get a job at."

Ryuunosuke didn't like where this was going.

* * *

"Welcome, my dear. What can I do for you?"

"This is stupid," Ryuunosuke chided as she watched Zero ring up a purchase. She was sitting on the hardwood floor she had once shared with her father behind the student store counter, where Zero sat selling school paraphernalia. In the same unusual way his will seemed to twist itself into reality, he had managed to get the position of student store clerk. Or… decided to, rather. Zero had the power and resources to make just about anything happen; he just had to set his mind to it.

"No one said you had to be here," he told Ryuu.

"Yeah, but you're up to something, and I wanna find out what. And besides…" she started, irritably, "I don't trust you around that many girls."

Ryuunosuke pointed to the line of female students leading out from the front of the counter and well into the hallway. Opposite the direction of the line stood a small crowd of male students, glaring in envy.

"Just because he's a little muscular…" one said.

"…and doesn't wear any clothes…" added another.

"…and he's always acting all chivalrous and everything…"

"This is an outrage," Megane complained. "How the hell are we supposed to compete with that, huh? The guy can literally warp reality. He's probably got them all brainwashed, for all we know!"

His compatriots, Perm, Chibi, and Kakugari, nodded in unanimous agreement.

"We plan our movements carefully, gentleman. For now, we observe. As soon as we see something out of place, a moment of weakness… we strike!"

"Eh? Hey, isn't this skirt a little shorter than on the other uniforms?"

"Oh, but it would look so cute on you," Zero could be heard telling the confused freshman girl. "You're a trendsetter, I can tell."

"You really think so?" she giggled, running off holding the new skirt with a cheerful blush rather than a response. Megane's gang watched the transaction in awe.

"…Perhaps we should let things play out for now."

* * *

Back at home, Ryuunosuke wondered to herself what Zero was planning, taking over the Tomobiki student store. Though, truth be told, that wasn't the biggest thing on her mind… in fact, she was finding it hard to remain focused on her worries about Zero. She was more worried about herself, and where she was going.

Ryuunosuke would soon be in her senior year, and she had no idea what she was going to be doing with her life. Her father had always told her that she would be taking over the family business, and she had always bitterly fought him over it, but at some point along the line, maybe she had started to believe him. Maybe she'd given up on having her own future.

Now her dad was out of the picture, and here she was with no plans for university, no real skills, and only average academic standings. Zero had done a lot for her, but she didn't want him to hand her entire life to her. What, a couple million yen and some best wishes? Life is about the experience, and Ryuunosuke wanted to earn hers. She wanted to live it.

 _Knock, knock!_

The sudden noise pulled Ryuu out of her trance. It was the front door. Without even thinking, she started towards it and cracked it open.

"Oh, good, this is the right place." It was Shinobu. "I saw the mailbox and figured as much, but y'know, I never actually got to see your new place. Um… may I come in?"

"Oh, uh, sure," said Ryuunosuke, surprised to see her friend come out to visit. She opened the door wide.

"Oh. You, uh… do this at home, too, huh?" Shinobu smiled politely, trying to avoid seeming judgemental. She was referring to Ryuunosuke's state of undress.

"Ah! Sorry… I can get dressed, if you want, I mean. I… jeez, you're actually the first person who's ever come out here." Ryuunosuke was never even visited by friends at her old place, when she lived with her father. She was sure that none of her classmates even knew what neighborhood this new house was in.

"It's fine, I'm already used to it," Shinobu insisted. "It's just us girls here, right?"

That much was true. Zero was still manning the student store for a little while after school hours. The two sat down alone in the living area, and didn't speak for a few moments.

"Oh! Uh… you want some, like, tea, or something?" Ryuunosuke hastily offered. She had never been a host for company before. She'd been a server back in the Hamajaya days, but that was different. And besides, they'd never really had any customers.

"I'd love some," Shinobu answered politely. Ryuunosuke scrambled to the kitchen, where some panicked clanking could be heard. A couple of minutes later, Ryuu returned with a steaming pot and some surprisingly ornate-looking teacups. Shinobu stifled a giggle as her friend poured the cups, wondering why it was she was acting so nervous.

When the two finally sat down to talk, the topic of Ryuu's concerns quickly came up.

"Well, have you asked Zero for advice?"

"You're the first one I've talked to," said Ryuu in response. "I've been relying on Zero so much lately, I figured that's kind of what got me into this spot in the first place. I guess I was relyin' on my old man too much, too…"

"No one expects you to face the whole world by yourself," said Shinobu. "There's nothing wrong with relying on our parents at our age."

"Well yeah, but… I just wish I knew what I was doing, is all. Like, what am I workin' towards?" Ryuu sighed. Even as tired as this topic made her, she was glad to finally be talking to someone about it. "What about you?"

"Hmm…" Shinobu's gaze lulled into the distance, wistfully. "I guess I've never really thought about it that much."

"Eh? Whaddya mean, you've never thought about it?"

"I don't know. I guess I'm kind of happy with the way things are, for now," Shinobu said. "I'll probably go to university, or something, I guess."

Shinobu was the most all-together member of the class Ryuunosuke could think of. At least, that's what Ryuu had always thought about her. If even she didn't know for sure what she wanted to do with her life yet… did any of her classmates? Mendou claimed to know his future. Lum wanted a faithful and monogamous home life with Ataru, and Ataru wanted a harem… both pretty unlikely futures, to be sure. Maybe it was a little early for Ryuunosuke to be worrying so much about all this. Maybe she still had some time, after all.

* * *

Zero returned just as Shinobu made her way out the front door, blushing at the sight of his nude figure descending from the sky above. She hurried by rather than strike up conversation.

"I'm back," he announced as he stepped through the door. "How long was Shinobu here?"

"Eh, not long. Maybe an hour," said Ryuunosuke, acting nonchalant. She still didn't want to talk about her doubts with Zero, especially now that they'd started to quell themselves a bit.

"That was nice of her. What'd she think of the place?"

"She didn't say," Ryuu answered. She finally turned to Zero. "What about you? How'd the student store business go, huh? You still haven't told me what it is you're up to."

"It's nothing new," he told her. "Just the same thing I've been setting out to do since I arrived in this world. My goal is to spread the values of truth and passion among as many humans as possible."

"'Truth and passion,' huh? You're not just gonna try to turn the whole school into nudists, are you?"

"Well…" he paused, failing to hide his sneaky grin. "Not immediately."

"Man, will you get serious? Do I really have to deal with you perving after all my classmates now?"

"Why, the very notion," said Zero, putting on a very obviously fake offended act. "Wasn't it you who said, 'a naked world is a beautiful world?'"

"Hey, I was just repeatin' what you said," Ryuunosuke defended. "And besides… all that… I thought, y'know… it was just our world. Just the two of us."

Zero looked at her closely. It seemed like Ryuunosuke was genuinely bothered by the idea that his virtues, and more importantly his attention, would extend to anyone but her. Zero sighed.

"Do you remember the night we met? When I first approached you in the clock tower?"

"'Course," said Ryuunosuke. "How could I forget? You nearly gave me a heart attack, popping out of the dark naked like that."

"And the note I left you?"

"I remember."

"I didn't reach out just because I felt sorry for you," he told her. "I had hoped to take you on as a disciple—an apprentice, to help me spread my virtues to others."

"An apprentice? Really?"

"After I got to know you, I realized that you needed some stability in your life before you could take on any additional responsibilities. I thought you weren't ready for my training yet."

Ryuunosuke remembered… Zero had mentioned something about her not being ready for training, all that time ago. Was that what he had been referring to? An apprenticeship, to help him spread his "virtues?"

"But now…" he continued, "I think, if you really wanted to, you might be able to help me. You've come a long way since then."

"Come a long way how?"

"Well… in being honest with yourself," Zero stated. Something about the implication there pissed Ryuu off, but she let him speak. "That's what's at the heart of my teachings—being true to oneself. When we met, your real self was hidden behind so many walls, you didn't want to let anyone in. It had to be this way. As much as your father had hurt you and betrayed your trust, it was only natural to keep everyone at arm's length."

"I dunno how I feel about you analyzing me," Ryuu complained. Zero shrugged.

"You're the one who asked me to elaborate," he said. "Anyway, the point is, I think you've opened your heart to people again, and that's all that's required to be my apprentice: the ability to trust others. Tell me… do you trust me, Ryuunosuke?"

Ryuu thought about it long and hard. Zero had given her a home, a new life… he had saved her from a life of abuse and shown her happiness for the first time in a long time. Without him, she would probably still be fighting her father every day, living in perpetual anger and depression, not to mention poverty. He had given her love, freely. True, he had tried to leave her once, and she'd be lying if she said that wasn't painful… but that also meant that that he respected her.

If he had been trying to pull some kind of quid-pro-quo arrangement, he never would have tried to leave before collecting. The fact that he'd been willing to go meant that after all he had given to her, he didn't expect anything back. Everything he had done had been for her, and only for her.

By that logic, Ryuunosuke knew… this was a genuine offer. Not some twisted long-con their relationship had spent months building up to. That wasn't Zero. Ryuunosuke knew that. She knew Zero.

With all this realized, she looked up into his eyes, and finally, she said:

"Of course I trust you."

"Excellent!"

"But that doesn't mean I'm ready to jump into anything," she warned. "I'm gonna need some time to decide on all this, okay?"

"Of course," Zero relented. "If it helps you to decide, why don't you shadow me for a little while? See for yourself what kind of things I'll be doing while I'm still here."

Ryuunosuke thought about it carefully.

"No commitment?" she asked.

"None at all."

"All right, then," Ryuu finally agreed. "I'll do what I can. I owe you that much, at least."


	3. Chapter 2: Shinobu

"What the hell is _this_?" Shinobu asked, angrily demanding an explanation from the new school storekeeper, Zero. "I never consented to these!"

"Oh, but I thought you'd be flattered," he defended. "The Shinobu pencil eraser is a hot seller. I've had lots of students buy them, not to mention the Lum eraser, the Ran eraser, the Sakura eraser…"

"I'll bet you didn't ask _them_ either," Shinobu criticized.

"I don't really mind," Lum commented nonchalantly, standing behind Shinobu. "I think mine's kind of cute."

"I've got all of them!" Ataru bragged with his usual lecherous grin.

"You two aren't helping!"

"I've also got some that are selling well with the ladies," Zero offered. "There's the Mendou eraser, the Ryuunosuke eraser… and one shaped like me, of course."

"Hey, where's the Ataru head?" Ataru asked, angrily.

"Sorry. Not enough demand."

"I'd buy one," Lum chimed.

"I'll consider it," said Zero.

"You're all hopeless!" Shinobu fumed, storming off in a huff. The others present just watched her departure in stoic silence.

"What's got her so worked up?" Lum asked.

"I don't think she likes me being the school shopkeep, for some reason," posited Zero.

"Are you sure it doesn't have anything to do with you and Ryuunosuke?" inquired Lum.

"What's that s'posed to mean?" Ataru called out. "They're both girls, aren't they?"

"Well, yeah, but…"

"It's all right," Zero assured. "Things will work out. If she decides she wants to come and talk things out with me, I'll be right here waiting."

Lum glanced at the clock.

"Ah! Darling! Come on, we'll be late for gym!"

"Man, when's the pool gonna open for the year? I'm gettin' sick of field sports, I'm ready for swim class…"

The two rushed off for class, ending their conversation with Zero abruptly. He remained seated at the shop, thinking aloud.

"Swim class, hmm…?"

* * *

"He's up to something… I know that much. But whaddya want me to do about it?" asked Ryuu.

"He'll listen to _you_ , won't he, Ryuunosuke?" begged Shinobu.

"Fat chance. Most of the time he just does whatever the hell he wants. I don't have any control over him."

"That Zero…" Shinobu thought. "How's he been acting at your place?"

"No news on the home front," Ryuu announced. "He hasn't done anything with me in weeks."

"Hmm…"

"Pssst… have you noticed the new school uniforms?" one Ataru Moroboshi whispered on the other side of the class, giggling audibly.

"I have," Megane responded in his usual seriousness. "I don't know how many of them have noticed it, but the skirts have gotten shorter… ten centimeters, and counting."

"You think they'll keep getting smaller…?" Ataru drooled.

"Ataru, you really are a simpleton," Megane chided. "There's an art to fashion. If the changes made are too drastic, they'll become apparent to the girls, especially when you have the old and new standing side by side. There's a lot to account for here. You have to monitor which year the different lengths of skirts are going to, which girls are friends with who, which ones eat lunch together, which ones have gym together, and on top of it all you have to somehow ensure that the old skirts are getting cycled out in some manner… what am I even saying? The scope of Zero's undertaking is clearly beyond you."

Ataru blinked, unimpressed with Megane's latest rambling lecture. Choosing not to acknowledge it, he continued on his own train of thought. "I think like the blouses are getting thinner, too!" he squealed.

"Moroboshi, you…!"

"Hey!" a female voice called, interrupting their discussion and sending a nervous chill down both boys' spines. "What was it you two were just talking about?" Shinobu demanded.

"Ehh… nothing!" Moroboshi grinned, lying through his teeth. "Just… how pretty you and Ryuu-chan are today!"

"I heard you say somethin' about Zero," Ryuu accused.

"Uniforms? Who said anything about Zero's uniforms?" said Megane in a panic. Moroboshi fell to exasperation.

"Smooth, man. Smooth."

"Hey…! Heeeey!" Perm cried, running into the classroom. "Have you guys seen the swimsuits they're selling at the student store? They're crazy!"

Ryuunosuke and Shinobu glanced at each other, then took off with the crowd to investigate.

Sure enough, there was a crowd of students gathered at the student store. The mob appeared to be an unruly one, too.

"You can't expect us to wear this!" a female student cried.

"This is outrageous! Totally degrading!" another shouted.

"What about us guys, huh?! I don't wanna wear this… this… floss!"

"Dude, can it," a male student shushed the first. "It's worth it if those are the girls' outfits, isn't it?"

"What's going on?" asked Shinobu, pushing her way to the front of the crowd.

"Oh, Shinobu, good timing," said Zero, turning his attention to her. "You're here to see this year's school swimsuits, right?" He held up a black female school swimsuit that looked to be not quite all there.

"What… what is this?" she asked, hesitantly.

"This year's swimsuits. They've already gone through the school principal."

"Looks to me like that swimsuit's missin' the chest part," Ryuunosuke assessed, annoyed and embarrassed at Zero's proposition.

"That's right," he boasted. "It's a fashion that started in France. We'll be real trendsetters." He motioned behind him, where a young woman suddenly appeared from behind the counter modeling the suit for the crowd. The male voices were quickly silenced, now given other things to think about as the model nonchalantly strut her exposed breasts about.

"That… that's absurd!" Shinobu responded, aghast.

"'Sides," said Ryuu, "that's just another you back there, ain't it? I can tell 'cause she's got no eyes!"

"Would you like to model the suit for me instead, Ryuu?" he asked.

"I… I got better things to do than that!" she shouted.

"Suit yourself," Zero acquiesced. "You're the lucky one who won't need a swimsuit at all. I thought about suggesting to the principal that we ditch them completely this year, but I think that would meet with a lot of resistance."

"No shit!"

"The design doesn't even make any sense!" Shinobu accused. "If it doesn't cover you completely, why have any fabric above the waist at all? What are the stomach and shoulder straps for?"

Zero paused.

"You know, I hadn't thought about that, but you're right," Zero admitted. "I'll have the design revised by tomorrow."

* * *

"This is even worse than before!" Shinobu cried, slamming the new swimsuit design on Zero's counter.

"Eh? Why's that?" he asked.

"It's barely half a swimsuit! This is just a bikini bottom with the year and class embroidered on it!"

"Right, it's uniform for both the boys and the girls."

Ryuu whistled idly across the hall. She had long since grown tired of being involved in this argument.

"What was wrong with the old uniforms, exactly?"

"Well, nothing, technically, in the same way there's nothing wrong with riding in a horse and carriage rather than an automobile. Don't you think these ones look much more comfortable, though?"

"Comfort's not the issue…!"

Zero sighed.

"Look, I know you're self-conscious… many girls have been there. But that's-"

"That's… that's not the issue, either!" Shinobu cried.

"I think you're very pretty," Zero finished regardless.

"…hm?" Ryuunosuke's ears perked, and she stepped up to the counter.

"I can't believe you! This is…" Shinobu was cut off by a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, Zero," started Ryuu, "Isn't it enough that you've got me? Why're you tryin' so hard to get the whole school naked?"

"Nuh…naked?!" Shinobu gasped. "Nuh-uh! Not a chance! No way! I'm putting a stop to this right now, Zero!"

"Oh? How's that?" he asked.

"I'll… I'll go over your head, straight to the principal!"

"Both the designs have already gone through him. He's given me the approval."

"Then I'll organize a boycott! The girls won't swim at all this year!"

"It's going to be a real scorcher, believe me. Even if _you've_ got the resolve to stay out of the pool, can you say the same for the whole school?"

"I'll… I'll…!"

Ryuunosuke finally stepped in. "Zero, don't be a jerk."

He lowered his head and sighed once more.

"Listen, girls, this is a matter of principle… of progress."

"Pro…progress, he says!"

"Hear me out, Shinobu," he asked. "This might be a little ahead of the times in this world, but… you consider yourself a feminist, right?"

"Eh…? I… guess so, yeah," she stammered, unsure of where he was going.

"Haven't you ever thought it was unfair that a woman's chest is obscene, but a man's isn't?"

"Well… no, I mean, they're two different things."

"You know, there have been some cultures, even here in this world, where the two were considered completely the same. That's really all it is—a matter of your culture."

"Yeah, but we have our culture here in this world… so shouldn't you respect that?" she argued.

"It's not about saying one culture is right or wrong," he explained, "but about having the choice. Don't you think you deserve to have the choice?"

"I mean… in an ideal world, yeah. Everyone should get to choose their culture and beliefs. But what you're doing isn't giving us a choice, you're the one deciding what we have to wear!"

"Well… that's true," he admitted. "Standardized uniforms are the school's policy, not mine. It would take me a lot of work to change that."

"So what about that, then? Why not everyone choose what to wear for themselves?"

"I wonder, though…" Zero suggested, "If you didn't _have_ to deviate from the standard… would you? Given the choice, would anyone?"

"What are you getting at…?" she asked.

"People are afraid of change, afraid to try new things. Sometimes they need a little nudge… something to force them out of their comfort zone, so that they can grow as people. For example, even after women were able to start taking jobs that once only belonged to men, it wasn't something that happened immediately. Each individual woman had to believe that she could do it, first. That she had a choice."

"Yeah… I get that," Shinobu nodded in understanding. What he was saying was starting to make sense to her, in a weird way. She was ready to be reeled in.

"One brave soul needs to show the others how strong they all are," Zero explained. "That's what starts a revolution. What do you think about that?"

"Yeah, I get it… so it's a matter of equality," Shinobu pondered. "Even so, though…"

"It can't be me," Ryuunosuke stated, picking up on Zero's plan. "Everyone's used to seeing my body by now. In fact, it'd probably look weird to see me wearing a swimsuit at all."

"We need someone else to lead the charge for equality," Zero explained. "A strong woman with a mind for change. Do you know anyone like that… Shinobu?"

* * *

"Sh…Shinobu! What are you wearing…?"

"Cute, right?"

Shinobu gave her best smile, modeling the swim briefs for her homeroom classmates. Her modest breasts didn't compare to Ryuunosuke's, but that didn't stop the boys' eyes from gravitating to their new targets. Shinobu paid them no mind. She wasn't doing this for the boys.

"You get used to it awfully fast," Shinobu insisted. "Right, Ryuunosuke?"

Ryuunosuke shrugged in the corner of the room, noncommittally.

"Aren't you… embarrassed, Shinobu?" one girl asked.

"You know, I thought I would be… but it's okay. What's there to be embarrassed about, right?"

"What about the boys…?"

"Forget the boys. This is for us girls," Shinobu asserted. "The pool's gonna open next week, so make sure you have your swimsuit by then!"

Ryuunosuke chuckled to herself in her little corner of the classroom, watching Shinobu act as the center of attention. She remembered when that had been her, just a couple weeks ago… and the whole business had reminded Ryuu a bit of her own past struggles with the often ill-defined roles of the sexes.

 _Zero, you conniving bastard…_ she thought with a sneer. _I'm never gonna understand how it is you work._


	4. Chapter 3: Lum

Since Shinobu had so bravely modeled the topless swimsuits for him, Zero's gambit had paid off and sales of the school swimsuits had returned to normal numbers. What's more, the ladies of the school were starting to get accustomed to the shorter summer skirts and thinner blouses he'd been peddling. Soon enough he'd have to come up with a similar modification to the boys' uniforms, for fairness's sake.

 _They're so conservative, though,_ he thought to himself, _changing them would be really apparent at a glance… Maybe it'd be better to make the changes all at once, take off a bunch of fabric and market them as seasonal items. Hmm…_

"Hey, Zero," a familiar voice rung out, pulling him out of his contemplation. "Can I talk to you a bit?"

Zero looked up. "Of course, Ryuu. What's going on?" He recognized right away that she looked troubled.

"Look, I'm not one to dance around what I wanna say," she began. "I know you've got these big plans for the school, and it's part of your job as the god of truth and passion, and all, but…" She paused. Despite her steely attitude, she was struggling to get the rest of her thoughts out. "I dunno… I feel like now that my dad's out of the way, I'm not that important to you anymore, and you've just moved on to other girls."

"Ryuunosuke…" he answered, sympathetically. "I never meant-"

"Zero! Zeeero!"

A female voice called out loudly from down the hall, unceremoniously interrupting their conversation. Ryuu was not especially happy about this, but Zero stopped midsentence to see Lum flying around the corner of the hallway, and looking to be quite flustered.

"Zero! I need a favor!" she burst out, upon finally reaching the shop counter.

"Hey, we were in the middle of a-"

"We can talk about this at the house, can't we, Ryuu?" Zero interrupted her. Ryuunosuke glared for a minute, then pouted in acquiescence, allowing him to continue. This was exactly the kind of thing she was talking about… but since she was here in person this time, she would give him the benefit of the doubt and see how this played out herself.

"What's going on, Lum?" he asked.

"Ryuu told me you're a really good fighter, and teacher…" Lum started. "Listen, can you teach me how to fight?"

"Ehh?" the surprised Ryuu reacted.

"I suppose I could," said Zero, "but… whatever for?"

"I may have told someone that I could beat the boss of Butsumetsu High in a fistfight…" she blushed.

"Butsumetsu…" Zero pondered, trying to recall. "Oh dear, that giant mole that's always chasing around Shinobu?"

Ryuunosuke snorted at the exceedingly accurate insult.

"See, there was this girl who thought I was only brave because I had special powers," she explained, "and I wanted to prove the power of courage to her, so she could believe in herself, you know? Really, I had good intentions!"

Ryuu listened intently at how Zero would react. He gave a concerned frown and put his hand to his chin, contemplating further.

"It's true that one can accomplish almost anything with enough willpower, but will alone isn't enough… you need time, as well," he stated. "Given both, I'm sure you could train yourself to be stronger than anyone, but… in just a week?"

"Actually, it's… three days," Lum admitted sheepishly.

"My oh my, we do have much to do. Meet me and Ryuu at our place after school, all right?"

"You're really going through with this?" Ryuu rolled her eyes.

"The least we can do is try," said Zero.

"After school at your place! Got it!" Lum answered, excitedly. It was a very good thing for her, she thought, that they had agreed to lend her a hand. She flew off again without another word.

"Hey, Zero…" started Ryuunosuke. "If she's trying to prove that all you need is courage to win a fight, doesn't it defeat the purpose if she's gotta train for it first?"

"Well, technically, yes," Zero admitted. "It's insightful of you to say that. Honestly, more than anything, I'm just happy to have a new training partner."

Ryuunosuke wasn't sure how she felt about this answer, but she kept the feeling to herself… for now.

* * *

"All right, let's do this! …wow, I've gotta get used to you standing up again…" Lum blushed.

She, Ryuunosuke, and Zero all stood in their home's small dojo, ready to begin Lum's training. As was their standard at home, Ryuu and Zero were both stark naked.

"Hey, how come _she_ doesn't have to follow the dress code?" Ryuu complained.

Lum looked confused. "Eh? Dress code?"

"I didn't think it would be relevant for her," Zero dismissed. "Besides, we only have three days—not enough time to train Lum for anything but the fight ahead."

"You made _me_ dress down when I was training to fight my dad," Ryuu sniped.

"That was you, this is Lum."

"What's that s'posed to mean?"

"Um… please don't fight because of me," Lum broke in, trying to prevent any argument. "I don't really mind, I mean, if it'll let us get started." She twiddled her thumbs. It looked like she minded a little bit, but not as much as she disliked seeing a couple argue.

Zero gave up and shrugged. "All right, go ahead."

Lum blushed and removed her two garments. It _had_ been a little awkward, being the only one wearing clothes. Even so… being naked in a room with two people, even friends, was also a pretty new and awkward feeling. She was damned if she did, damned if she didn't.

Ryuunosuke unconsciously looked Lum up and down, examining her body. Zero, meanwhile, resumed speaking.

"The one you're fighting, the big fellow…" he started. "What do we know about him?"

"He's got enough obnoxious stamina to rival my dad," Ryuunosuke said. "As soon as Shinobu pops him one, he's always right back for more, like he's not even bothered by it."

"He's pretty big, too," Lum fretted. "I don't think most attacks would even budge him…"

"What about his fighting style?"

"I've only ever seen him charge wildly," said Ryuu.

"All right, so he's tough and has a lot of stamina, but technique isn't his strong suit," Zero assessed. "That said…" He eyed Lum up and down, warily. "Punch me," he instructed.

"Eh? Right now?"

"Right in the chest, as hard as you can."

"You're just gonna make her feel bad, man," Ryuu scolded.

Lum hesitated, but complied. With a big motion, she lunged forward and thrust her fist into Zero's chest with all the force she could muster. As one might suspect, he didn't budge.

"Told ya'," chided Ryuu.

"Next, Lum…"

"Um… yes?" she asked.

"How much do you weigh?"

"I- I'm not telling you that!" she barked.

Zero sighed. "All right, fine. Then please lie on your back for me."

Lum hesitated, but obliged, as awkward as it felt lying on the wooden floor naked… even moreso when Zero lay down in front of and opposite her. He raised his legs.

"I want to see how strong your legs are," he explained. "Press your feet to mine and push as hard as you can."

Again, Lum obliged the strange request. She understood his reasoning, but still… putting her bare feet against his felt like some weird, martial artist's version of footsies. She knew she was just thinking about it too much.

She pushed with all her might, and Zero adjusted his leg strength to compensate the force. After a moment or two, he instructed her to stop, and they both rose again.

"Your legs are weaker than most humans," he told her, "but they're still stronger than your arms. Flying around all the time hasn't done your muscles any favors, I'm afraid."

Lum pouted at the blunt feedback. She didn't have to be told she wasn't a bodybuilder, after all.

"With your level of strength and his ability to take a hit, I don't see any way that you can inflict damage on him. In such a situation, the first solution to try is wearing your opponent down with your superior speed… but he has superhuman stamina, too."

"What do you do against someone with lots of stamina?"

"Beat them down quickly so that they aren't able to outlast you," Zero answered. "But you can't do that if you can't inflict damage on him… bit of a predicament, I'd say."

This advice wasn't helping. If anything, it was just making Lum even more worried about the fight.

"About the one thing you have over this guy is your brains, from the sound of it," said Zero. "But this is a duel. Setting traps or taking advantage of the terrain aren't really options."

"What about using his own force against him?" asked Ryuu.

"That does come to mind," said Zero, "but according to you, he doesn't have a lot of offensive power, right? If he's that thick-skinned, he may not even be able to hurt _himself_."

"The guy's dim, but he's got the force of a bull at full charge," Ryuunosuke explained.

"I see… that… hmm…" Zero contemplated, uncertainly. "Even with training, I wonder if Lum has even the strength necessary to turn that kind of force against itself…"

Lum again appeared disheartened.

"…but it's the only chance we've got," Zero finally concluded. "I suppose that will have to be the focus of our training: Lum the bullfighter."

"The… bullfighter?"

"If he comes at you with any _actual_ fighting moves," Ryuu assessed, "you're pretty much screwed. Hopefully that don't happen, though."

"R…right…"

Lum was feeling less and less sure of this every minute.

* * *

"All right, one more dodge!"

At Zero's command, Ryuunosuke charged Lum, arms spread wide, and Lum only just managed to evade the tackle. They'd only just started training, and already she had several bruises from the charges she _hadn't_ been able to avoid.

"Good, that's enough of that for now."

Lum and Ryuunosuke were both breathing heavily from the efforts of their training.

"Dodging is critical, but it won't be enough to win you the fight," said Zero. "At some point you're going to have to deal some kind of damage. The way I see it, you have three options of approach. First, you try to trip your opponent from the side. Worst case scenario, he steps square on your leg and it snaps like a dry twig."

Lum grimaced at the image. That sounded like an awful plan.

"Second option, you stand your ground and perform a reversal. The only way that might be possible is with your back to the ground, both legs to his gut as he approaches you. If you fail, it wouldn't be quite so bad… but you still run the risk of getting trampled."

That didn't sound much better.

"Finally, you have the option of a head-on assault. Unfortunately, because of how tough your opponent is, the only way you might have a chance at dealing damage is with your strongest attack: both legs, full force. And then only after some conditioning."

"A stomp? Don't you think that's kind of predictable?" asked Ryuunosuke.

"He's a dim one, right? As long as he doesn't try to grapple her, it'll probably connect."

Lum observed their banter, passively. It was all she could do to put her faith in their judgement as… er… "fight experts."

"Lum, are you listening?" asked Zero. "I want you to come at me and perform a flying stomp to my head."

"Eh? How?"

"Well… first, show me a long jump," he instructed.

Lum obliged. With a short running start, she leapt a good distance with both legs together. No flying at all. She had to admit, it made her feel a little proud about how far she got.

"All right, now instead of aiming for distance, aim for height. I want you to jump as high off the ground as you can."

Again, Lum obliged, making it a good few feet high in her leap. She stumbled a bit on the landing.

"Now come at me with that jumping motion," Zero instructed. "I know my head's a lot smaller than the one you'll be aiming at, but think of it as a part of the training. You'll only stumble if you miss. And don't worry about hurting me—I can take it."

Lum was wary to deliver such a strong kick to her teacher, under his instruction or not. But, it sounded like he knew what he was doing… hopefully Lum did, as well. She was sure a flying stomp sounded a lot easier than it really was.

 _All right. I'm gonna give this my best shot,_ she affirmed to herself, putting on her best game face.

With a running start, her feet soared a good 4 feet off the ground, making it to the height of the haunched Zero's head. Unfortunately, Lum lost her nerve at the last minute, slacking her kick, slipping on contact, and separating her legs. Zero received an entirely unexpected surprise, then, when her legs went to either side of his face, flinging the spot between them at him full force and sending both of them to the ground.

"Buh…bwah!"

Ryuunosuke reacted in similar surprise at the sight of the naked Lum accidentally straddling her teacher's face. Lum's eyes widened in shock as she slowly came to realize how she had landed, and Zero's groin said all it needed to say about his reaction.

"Z…Zero!" Ryuunosuke ran up and shoved the stunned Lum off of him, sending her to the floor.

"Ow! Hey!" she called, rubbing her head. Ryuu was too occupied smacking Zero to notice.

"What the hell was that, you jerk?! You tryin' to pull something?!"

As Ryuunosuke's open-palmed onslaught continued, Zero came back to his senses after the unexpectedly pleasant (but still forceful) blow to the head. Still, he did not stop his student's hand, instead allowing her to vent whatever she was feeling. Instead, it was Lum who came to Zero's aid, grabbing Ryuu's hand to stay it with a look of defiance in her eyes.

"Ryuunosuke, that's enough," she insisted. Ryuunosuke glared at her, straight in the eye, and for a moment, some sparks were primed to fly… but Ryuu had tempered her temper well (for the most part) since meeting Zero, and after a deep breath, she was able to calm herself.

Zero sat up.

"I'm sorry. That was… very unexpected," he admitted to both of them. Ryuu didn't particularly believe his apology. Lum was just embarrassed about the whole incident.

"It's late," said Zero. "Why don't we end things for today and resume tomorrow. In the meantime…"

Lum and Ryuunosuke watched in curiosity as Zero made his way to his personal storage area, disappearing into the small room a moment before returning with a pair of metal objects.

"What… are those?" Ryuunosuke asked, confused.

"These are cast iron leg bracers. I used to wear them myself, early on in my training," he stated, motioning to his own well-toned leg muscles. "Keep these on at all times, Lum, until the day of the fight."

"Ehhh? But… but… they're massive!" she gawked.

"They'll be just a little loose, but they'll fit. Each one is about forty-five kilos."

"F-forty five?! There's no way she can manage that!" said Ryuu.

"I'll die!" cried Lum.

"Don't be a drama queen," Zero criticized. "Even for a normal human, it's manageable. You'll be shuffling at first, but it's the only way you'll see any meaningful change to your leg strength in three days. Oh, and also—no flying. Got it?"

Lum pouted. "That's cruel. How am I supposed to get home tonight?"

"Why do you think we're calling it early? You'll have plenty of time to walk."

* * *

"That was just mean," Ryuunosuke accused.

"I never _like_ to see a lady suffer," said Zero. "But like I said, it's the only way she'll get results."

"You seem to be thinking about the ladies a lot lately, don't you?" Ryuu said, suspicion in her eyes. She pointed down to Zero's member, griefing him about what had happened earlier. Zero caught the message.

"You can't blame me in _that_ situation," he defended. Ryuunosuke rolled her eyes, and a long silence fell between them. Finally, Zero resumed: "Still… I haven't seen you get that angry in quite a while."

"I… I wasn't angry!"

"I can tell when you're lying, you know."

Ryuunosuke scowled. She hated when he said that.

"Why'd you agree to train Lum?" she asked. "You know she can't beat that guy in a straight fight."

"No, probably not…" he sighed. "But wouldn't it at least be fun to try? Besides, it's fun to mix things up with a new training partner now and then."

"But… _I'm_ your training partner," she defended. "Am I not good enough?"

"Ryuu…" Zero trailed off, suddenly realizing what was going on. "You're my favorite training partner. I would never replace you. _Certainly_ not with Lum," he laughed.

"You'd have a hard time getting that girl to throw a decent punch," Ryuu admitted. However, the upset look didn't leave her face. "Isn't that what you do best, though? Train one person and then move on?"

"Ryuunosuke, you and I still have so much to do together… we've barely started. Even if my skills are needed by others, and I have to share my training, I want you beside me the whole way," he explained. "When I came to this world, there was only one person that caught my eye immediately. It wasn't Lum, and it wasn't Shinobu… it was you, Ryuunosuke. I chose you, and I've never once regretted it."

Ryuunosuke smiled at the heartfelt speech. Maybe she was being a little insecure… Zero wasn't going anywhere. For now, at least, she could believe in that truth. Despite all the drama that had come between them lately, she knew that she was still special to him. She could feel it in his embrace. There was no mistaking it.


	5. Chapter 4: Benten

"Shame about Lum losing that fight, huh?"

"Couldn't be helped."

Ryuunosuke shrugged at Shinobu as she watched her friend prepare for gym class. Ryuunosuke, of course, had little to prepare without any need to change outfits.

"Still, she put up a better fight than anyone expected her to," Shinobu admitted. "That training you and Zero did with her must have been worth something. I hear that girl she was trying to impress was inspired by the attempt, even though she lost."

"Really? That's good," said Ryuunosuke. She felt a little awkward staring at Shinobu changing clothes, but there wasn't much else for her eyes to do. At least, that was what Ryuu told herself.

"You're lucky, you know that?" Shinobu stopped and turned to Ryuunosuke, catching her by surprise. The panicked Ryuu quickly veered her eyes elsewhere to act as if she hadn't been watching Shinobu, who didn't seem to pay her friend's behavior much mind. "Most girls are lucky to get just one, strength or beauty… you've got all the muscle you could want, _and_ you've won the lottery in feminine charm, to boot."

Ryuunosuke wondered what Shinobu meant by "feminine charm," until she noticed her friend's eyes motioning towards her bosom. Ryuu never thought about it much, but it was true that she was a bit more… developed… than most of her classmates.

"So which side do you fall into, then, huh?" Ryuu asked.

Shinobu giggled and less-than-humbly replied, "Beauty, of course!"

"What're you talkin' about? You're stronger than I am."

"That's neither here nor there," Shinobu scolded as she finished putting on her gym uniform. "Now quit staring and let's get out there."

* * *

"…and that's what she said."

"I see," said Zero. "It's a shame, but I really don't think Shinobu's interested in anything more than being friends."

"Wha… who said anything about that?" Ryuu asked, defensively. "We're both girls, of course we wouldn't be any more than friends."

"There's nothing wrong with having an interest in other girls," Zero affirmed. "You just might have to look somewhere besides Shinobu."

"I'm not… I don't…" Ryuu hesitated to get the words out. Her brain was telling her she should deny any of the implications Zero was making, but at the same time, she didn't feel 100% certain that she was telling the truth by denying them. Simply put, Ryuunosuke was conflicted.

"You don't have to talk about this with me right now if you don't want to," Zero assured. Ryuunosuke breathed a deep sigh of relief, in stark contrast to the defensive panic she was showing only a moment ago.

"Thanks. I'm not sure I really could, right now," she admitted.

Zero grinned suspiciously.

"Why don't you just leave things to me?"

* * *

"…and then I started thinking about Ryuunosuke's other friends, thought about you, asked Lum for advice on how to meet up with you, and… well, here we are."

The biker battle vixen, Benten, stared in awkward silence, confused but enthralled by Zero's story. Here was this naked stranger… well, maybe not a complete stranger. After all, she'd heard plenty about him from Lum. Anyway, a handsome, naked stranger was sitting in her house, claiming to be a god and talking to her about her delinquent friend who may or may not be bi-curious. Life was a strange thing sometimes.

"What made you think of me, exactly?" she asked bluntly.

"Well… hm… how to say this…" Zero began. "I hope you'll take this the right way, but from what I know about you, you seem like a girl who isn't too stuck up or afraid of enjoying life."

"Oh yeah? And whaddya know about me, then?" Contrary to the irritable reaction Zero might have expected, her tone was inoffensive, curious. Benten wanted to know how Zero had heard about her, and what he'd heard. Something about him had apparently caught her interest.

"Well… I know the first time you met Lum's fiancé, Moroboshi, you took a chance flirting with him. Most girls won't even humor the guy."

"Yeah… he did turn out to be kind of a creep. I'm still not sure what Lum sees in the guy. But it's good to give everyone a fair shake, y'know?"

"I like that attitude," Zero agreed, somewhat cheerfully. "It's nice to see someone so easygoing."

"You seem pretty chill yourself," she answered. She was remarkably relaxed around him, considering the two had just met. "But… wait up, how'd you know about when me and Moroboshi met?"

"Well… I told you, I'm a god," Zero explained.

"So am I," she said. "What's that matter?"

"Well, see, you're of the Gods of Luck, the fukujin race, but I… hmm…" Zero chose his words carefully so as not to offend. Benten came to the realization on her own, interrupting his hesitation.

"Hold on, you mean… You're the real thing, aren't you? Like… a kami?"

"Yes, yes, that's a good distinction. Not a fukujin, but a kami."

"Wow… didn't know you guys really existed. I'm impressed." She smiled deviously and leaned in close to Zero.

"…eh?"

"So if you're really some all-powerful being… what brought you to Earth, then, huh?" She was sitting dangerously close to Zero, and looking at him with dangerous eyes. He could feel her breath on his face. "For that matter, how'd you end up getting so close to Ryuu-chan?"

"Well, let's see…" he began, trying hard to ignore her body language. "I've always gravitated to ladies who are good in a fight. You and Ryuu both caught my eye a long time ago. You're both very pretty, and seemed like you had a lot going on under the surface…" He paused to think once more. "I guess what it came down to, going to Earth, was that… Ryuu was the one who needed me more, is all."

Zero turned to look at Benten, who was, to his surprise, smiling… not in the sly way she had been, or even her usual, excited, aggressive smile. Her smile said something along the lines of, "so that's the way it is."

"It's a good thing Ryuu has someone like you looking out for her," she said. "Even if you're a terrible flirt."

"Eh? What do you mean by that?"

"C'mon, you're so transparent," Benten laughed. Now she was back to her regular disposition. "You can't even tell me about Ryuunosuke without complimenting me at the same time. You couldn't _wait_ to tell me how pretty you think I am."

She was sly, this one.

"That, uh… wasn't intentional," he defended, hesitantly. "I just… make a habit of complimenting people."

"Guys too?"

"…sometimes."

She eyed Zero up and down, doing her best to read him.

"So then… what is it that you're the god of, exactly?"

"Truth and passion," he answered succinctly. She leaned in _very_ close. Her voice became soft.

"Have you been truthful with me?"

"I… I have."

"Why don't you tell me what you want to do with me?"

Zero swallowed. This girl was aggressive. Benten wasn't like Ryuunosuke, after all… Ryuu had a lot of internal conflict, but Benten? She knew what she wanted, and obviously, she knew how to get it.

"Well… I believe in free love, but-"

"What~ do you want~ to do~ with me~?"

Her voice was down to a whisper. Perhaps it was better to play along with her. Yes, that seemed like a good idea. _Just play along, Zero._

"I want to see what's under that armor. I want to wrap myself around you and feel your muscles on mine. I want to treat you like the queen Oyuki wishes she was."

Benten smirked, especially amused by the jab at Oyuki.

"You're mine now, tough guy."

Wasting no time, Benten pulled off her metal bra and armored bottom—typically her only two articles of clothing—and tossed them to the ground with a metallic clank. Had this encounter happened centuries ago, Zero, too, could have removed his iron vestments… but at the moment they were on loan to Lum, and he hadn't worn them in eons anyway.

As Zero was momentarily distracted by this tangent of thought, Benten leaned in and pressed her torso again his, pushing him down onto her bed, which he had been comfortably seated on. He wasn't used to being the submissive one, that was for sure.

As if honoring his previous request, Benten flexed her abdominals against Zero's own washboard torso. The moment she did so, she immediately felt his little cohort perk up and poke her leg in feedback.

"You really like girls with muscles, don't you?" she teased.

"I have a lot of respect for them," Zero replied.

"Is that what _this_ is supposed to measure, then? Respect?" She reached down and gripped his member firmly, like a motorbike handle.

"You… you could say that," he said, failing to stifle his reaction as the little one grew ever thicker in her ferocious grip.

"Lucky for you I'm into beefy guys," she mentioned as she moved in for a kiss, planting it before he could make an attempt at a response. She was as forceful a kisser as she was a flirter, going deep— _way_ deep—without any hesitation at all. When she was finished, she moved down to his nipples in an almost perfect reversal of the usual methods Zero himself used on the ladies.

 _She's good_ , he thought silently.

"You're good at this," he then said aloud, being the god of honesty.

Without a word, she continued moving south, letting her actions speak rather than her words. It wasn't obvious whether she'd done this before or if she was just that confident. Zero was betting on the latter, but didn't feel compelled to probe her mind for something that, once she'd gotten started, seemed rather trivial.

Some fanciful tonguework and a good swallow later, Benten offered the defeated Zero a smug, satisfied smirk. But Zero smirked back—he wasn't as defeated as she'd thought.

"Now, feast your eyes," he boasted. "I've got a trick to show you."

Benten observed, curiously anticipating what it was Zero had in store. Her eyes were glued to him, so she couldn't have missed a moment, but still, she was left in disbelief when, right in front of her, Zero transformed himself from a man into a woman.

"How's that?" he (she) grinned. "I can-"

"Hey, no fair! Change it back!"

Zero immediately looked disappointed.

"Not interested, then?" he asked.

"Maybe when I'm in the mood," said Benten, "but if I start with a guy I want to finish with a guy, got it?"

Zero shrugged and turned back as quickly as he had turned. At the very least, he'd confirmed that she had at least some interest in the same sex. He certainly didn't mind finishing things as he was, though.

"Can you get it up again?" she asked, straight.

Rather than speak directly, Zero stepped closer and moved into a deep kiss, at first catching Benten off guard. When she felt what it did to him down south, however, she realized it was an answer to her question. He had stamina to spare.

"That one of the benefits of being a god?" she asked, accidentally giggling as her partner moved down to her breasts, tickling her slightly.

"That power's reserved for the god of passion," he answered before glomping on. Zero was a bit more excitable than he usually was with his partners—something about Benten had loosened him up. He didn't have to worry about being slow or delicate with someone as expressedly uninhibited as she was. It was the first time in a while he was able to let his instincts speak for themselves.

That's not to say his technique suffered, though. Benten quickly fell victim to his passionate efforts in much the same way he had to hers. The pair were insatiable with one another, and their shared enthusiasm took them both well into the evening, until finally, there was nothing left to do but lie in embrace.

"You were really pent up… huh?" she asked him.

"It's been a long time since I've felt such immediate chemistry with someone, is all," he answered. "I have to admit, I could've really fallen for you, Benten. But…"

A long pause fell between them. It was a loud silence.

"Don't worry, I get it," Benten assured. "We both knew what this was."

"You're not disappointed?"

"If you're really a kami, it'd be weird for you to settle down and live with a mortal chick. I'm sure some problems would pop up sooner or later."

Again, there was silence.

"So what about you and Ryuunosuke, then?" she finally asked.

Zero sighed. "I don't know yet. There's a part of me that thinks, maybe I was only interested in the challenge… a girl like her, any man would really have to work for her affections. But…"

"But?"

"Every time I see her smile at me, I feel something. It's not just a sense of accomplishment, there's something there. Something unique."

Benten grinned in the odd, self-assured way that an older sister would. "You really care about her," she said. She then sat up suddenly, as if to provide closure to their discussion. "Don't worry about it too much. Fate will work it out."

"Fate, you say?"

"Trust me," she laughed. "I _am_ a god of luck, aren't I?"


	6. Chapter 5: Ryoko

The weekend had arrived, and both Zero and Ryuunosuke had been so preoccupied with their own affairs regarding the shop and schoolwork that they'd hardly seen each other at home throughout the week. Some bonding time was well in order, especially if Ryuunosuke was still planning on watching Zero and his machinations. He, too, was looking forward to spending some time with Ryuu again. He just hadn't planned on how.

"What kind of event, now?"

"It's a party at Mendou's," Ryuu explained. "Real fancy food, no doubt. I wouldn't be going otherwise."

"You know I could get us any food in the world, right?" he asked.

"Yeah. But you don't," she retorted.

"Fair point. I wouldn't mind some classy hors d'oeuvres for a change, especially if I don't have to track them down myself. What kind of party is it, exactly?"

"Bah, you never know with him. If it's something his sister cooked up, no doubt it'll be something crazy."

"His sister, you say? That's… Ryoko, right?"

"Dunno."

"I've got a profile on that girl," said Zero, judgingly. "I'm inclined to be wary around her."

"You've _always_ gotta be wary around rich folk."

* * *

Fancy dress. Pristine décor. Classical music. All signs pointed to a standard rich folk party… too standard, in fact. The only deviation was, no hors d'oeuvres.

Despite both Zero and Ryuunosuke being known around the school by now for their lack of attire, the two were dressed for the occasion, if only for today. Zero sported a form-fitting dress jacket and pants, while Ryuunosuke wore a long, sleek black dress. Even though she had come to appreciate Zero's gender-downplay philosophy, she still couldn't help but feel all bubbly anytime she was able to dress up like a real lady. That alone made coming tonight worth it.

That said, there wasn't a lot to do at this party besides mingle with friends. Ataru, Lum, Shinobu, Megane's gang… all the usuals were present. Mendou himself had yet to make an appearance, nor had his sister, Ryoko. Ryuunosuke was just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please!"

And there it was. The female voice on the speaker system brought Ryuu's level of caution right back up to red again.

"As some of you may have heard, the event tonight is a Gourmet Party! We have for each of you a brand new, experimental dish straight from our chefs for you to try. Please give us your honest opinions on each dish served."

As the voice spoke, several kuroko servants began fanning the room, presenting covered silver trays to each of the guests. It looked from the way they were moving about that each tray was designated for a particular guest—and the fact that they were all covered raised some flags.

Ataru was presented his tray quickly, and wasted no time opening it up, as it was a gift from Ryoko. His dish was a bowl of soup, and one taste made it obvious that it was almost nothing but salt… not that he minded, since it was a gift from Ryoko.

Megane and company all opened their trays to be met with bursts of powder, like miniature smoke bombs. All of them started on coughing fits.

"Is that… ack… powder sugar?" Megane choked.

"I think mine's… curry powder…" Chibi struggled to say.

Lum, meanwhile, was merely disappointed that her dish was so bland.

Ryuunosuke got sushi. _Probably pufferfish, or something,_ she thought to herself. Deciding not to chance it right away, she went over to Zero to see what he'd been given.

Zero had been wary to open the tray at all, but after apt preparation, took the plunge. Pulling off the tray's top seemed to activate a device that set the dish on fire—it looked to be nothing but a potato set ablaze in the middle of the tray.

 _What is this, a pun?_ he thought. _Hot potato? Too hot to eat?_

Zero stared at the curious scene a moment, with Ryuu onlooking as well, before…

 _ **BOOM!**_

An explosion rang through the hall floor, catching everyone's attention. Ryuunosuke was sent to the floor, scuffed and blackened by the explosion, but otherwise no worse for wear. Zero, however…

" _AAAIIIEEE!"_

A piercing shriek followed the explosion as the scene became apparent to everyone. On the floor was Zero's lower half, and around the rest of the room, his top half was splattered in various quantities. The party guests were aghast at the gruesome display, and when Ryuunosuke finally came back to her senses, she had some trouble grasping what had transpired. That is, until a gleeful Ryoko came running out to the scene.

"Oh, looks like you got the _hand grenade flambé!_ We also call it the Chef's Surprise… surprise!" she laughed, completely unaffected by the gory chunks all over the room. Ryuunosuke was devastated. She could barely restrain herself from beating the sadistic Ryoko to a bloody pulp, then and there. In fact, she was pretty sure she _couldn't_ restrain herself.

Only seconds before it came to that, the guests were made to watch as the pieces of Zero all over the room began to wiggle and move, gathering themselves once again to the rest of his body and forming a complete whole once more. The whole process was somewhat unsettling to watch, and didn't restore Zero's suit… but, it was enough to bring him back to the world of the living with a gasping breath.

Zero stood up, now dressed only in scorched pants, took another deep breath to establish some composure, and then looked Ryoko in the eye. Deeply… sternly.

"You're quite something, aren't you?" she said, never letting her entertained smile leave her face. "I had heard you were a god, but to think you could do a thing like that… you're going to be fun!"

Zero did not respond. Ryuunosuke wanted to, but… instead, her eyes were on Zero. She had never seen him look as serious as he did now. She wanted to say something to defend him… but before she could, Zero spoke first.

"I'm leaving."

Without another word, he began walking out of the party. The confused Ryuunosuke joined him. She couldn't believe it. To her eyes… Zero had just _died_. God or not, she thought for sure he would explode on Ryoko, or at least express _something_ … disappointment? Disdain? The fact that he said nothing, though… it had to belie something deeper. This was the most serious expression she had ever seen on Zero's face.

"Ryuunosuke?" he asked. She pulled herself out of her daydream and listened as they walked. "Are you certain you want to see everything I do as a god?"

"Well… yeah, I mean, I still wanna help out if I can. You've done so much for me, an' all…"

"All right, then. We'll have some work to do tomorrow."

* * *

 _Hard… too hard. The bed wasn't always this hard, was it? And why is the room so dark? Am I…?_

Ryoko turned and tossed around, trying for a moment to feel out why it was that everything suddenly felt so strange to her this morning. The sunlight hadn't even made it into the east side window like it was designed to do every morning, yet. In fact, everything was pitch black.

Her eyes opened wide as she came to the realization that she was not in her bedroom. Not only that, but she was completely naked, wherever she was. She sat up abruptly.

"Hello?" she called out. No response.

 _That's it, then. This is a dream,_ she told herself. _In fact… I'm fairly sure I've had this one before. How mundane._

Shortly after her call went out, a light appeared from above her, accompanied by the sound of a door opening. Some footsteps were heard, and shortly after, the light vanished as the door shut once again. The footsteps continued, growing closer. Someone was walking down to her.

"Who's there?"

"You're awake, then," the voice replied. It was a deep, male voice. "I suppose our last meeting wasn't very memorable to you, was it?"

The voice had gotten closer. Out of nowhere, a light was switched on, only illuminating the room dimly enough for Ryoko to just make out the face of her speaker.

"You, you're… Zero?"

Ryoko was mildly surprised. Not overwhelmingly surprised—even if this wasn't a dream, she had anticipated the possibility of some kind of petty revenge. Whatever was going on here, though… it certainly wasn't what she had been expecting.

"Oh, good. You do remember me," he said. "Perhaps, then, you know why it is you're here."

Another dimly-lit figure stood behind Zero. Ryoko couldn't quite make the person out, but given their established relationship, she felt safe in assuming that the other figure was probably Ryuunosuke.

"This is part of some silly revenge plot, isn't it?" Ryoko asked, unimpressed. "You pervert."

"This has nothing to do with revenge," he clarified. "This is a matter of justice. But then, the concept of a superego may be too much for you to grasp."

"You sound like my brother. You men are so full of yourselves," she argued. "When will-"

A hand brushed against Ryoko's face, and before she could finish her sentence, she realized that her voice was no longer working. She tried and tried, but no matter what she did, she was unable to get any sound to escape her lips. She was mute.

"Sorry, but you'll just have to listen for a while," said Zero, pacing in front of her deviously. Ryoko, of course, was not happy with having her voice taken, and immediately lashed out at her captor.

Another brush on the body, and her limbs collapsed beneath her, leaving her body as limp as a ragdoll. What was he doing? What did he plan on doing with her?

"I'm sure your mind must be racing right now," said Zero. "In fact, I know it is." _Because I'm right here inside it._

This last part was communicated telepathically. Not even Ryoko's thoughts were her own.

"You've taken for granted the many blessings in your life," said Zero. "Not only that, but you've taken it upon yourself to use those blessings to harm those less fortunate than you."

 _I use them on my brother, and he's exactly as fortunate as me!_ she wanted to say. Not that it mattered right now what she wanted to say. She couldn't say anything.

"It would seem that the people in this world are made of sterner stuff than the people of my world," he explained, citing the hand grenade incident with Ryuunosuke. "Even so, causing pain for your own amusement is undoubtedly the lowest, most petty form of evil there is."

 _Evil? That seems like a bit much,_ she thought.

"In most circumstances, evil like that is something that I make a point to eliminate with extreme prejudice. You understand, of course, that not all sinners can be saved. In the time it takes to reform one, a hundred more will appear. But you…" He leaned in uncomfortably close. Not that Ryoko could do anything about it. "I've decided to make an exception for you. Aren't you fortunate?"

Ryuunosuke was more than slightly uncomfortable with this conversation. She herself didn't have any strong opinions either way. Though there was a certain satisfaction in seeing a spoiled rich person getting a taste of powerlessness, she couldn't help but wonder if this was too much.

"Cooperate, and you'll be able to return to your home again," Zero explained. "But before that, you'll need to understand three things. No more, no less."

Ryoko appeared worried.

"First, I'm going to help you realize all of the things you've taken for granted in your life." Zero stood up again. "Second, you'll be learning some humility. If it comes to it, I will break you and rebuild you from scratch… so speak with grace and tact, dear." Ryoko was sweating now. "Finally, you'll come to understand the pain that you've been causing others… one way or another. Understand?"

Ryoko, of course, did not respond.

"From this point on, your thoughts are not your own. Your faculties are not your own. Your body is not your own." He telekinetically raised her up to eye level. "Make no mistake. You are not my disciple. You are my prisoner. My pet. My project. Your continued existence depends on your success here."

Zero again brushed her face, restoring her speech to her.

"You're a monster! How dare you do this to me! When my armies-"

Another brush, and silence.

"Your armies, you say. And who is it who will be sending them?" Zero asked. "Your family? Surely they'll be missing you… right? They might notice your absence from the weekly family get-together… if you hadn't been skipping those already, that is. You're about as close-knit as… as…" He turned to Ryuunosuke. "What's something poorly-knit?"

"Uh… the patches on my pop's underwear?"

"Sure, that," he affirmed. He then turned his attention back to Ryoko. "No one is coming to free you. There is no army in this world that can stand up to a god. Your only hope is to complete my course. I'll leave you to mull that over for a while."

Zero and Ryuunosuke made their exit from the small basement, leaving Ryoko there with all her faculties restored… for now.

"Zero… is all that… okay?" Ryuunosuke asked, hesitantly. She didn't want to question him, but… "Can you really say that what you're doing is right?"

Zero contemplated. "I realize it's extreme. Incredibly so. But that girl… she's a special case. If her sadistic tendencies remain unchecked, with her money and influence, someday, she'll be an honest to goodness threat to mankind. Honestly, the most efficient way to handle things would be to kill her… but I know how you feel about that." Ryuunosuke winced. "And besides, I don't like to admit it, but… you know me. As awful as she is, I have a weakness for young ladies." Now Ryuu rolled her eyes.

"I don't think she's completely a lost cause," Zero continued, "but she's close. She's as self-centered as she is sadistic. The only way I see any progress being made with her is to first shatter her godlike self-image."

"If that's not the pot calling the kettle black," Ryuunosuke teased.

"I'm a benevolent god," Zero retorted. "She behaves more like a ritual sacrifice god."

* * *

Some time later…

The muffled cries that had been seeping out from the basement for the first couple of hours had ceased. Ryuunosuke's abode was now filled with… relative peace. The tense atmosphere between herself and Zero had not completely dissipated. Even if everything he had said to her was accurate, and their prisoner could become a threat to the world if left unchecked, something about all this still didn't sit well with Ryuu. Not that she could physically do anything to stop Zero… she'd have to talk him out of his plan, if anything, and she still wasn't sure enough about her own thoughts on the situation to form a cohesive argument.

"She's quieted down," Ryuu commented idly.

Zero stood up. "I'm not going to be too harsh on her the very first day," he insisted, starting towards the basement door.

Below, Ryoko shifted on the floor as she saw the crack of light from above. A figure started down the stairs, locking the door behind him.

"You've calmed down, I see," he stated.

"They'll find me," Ryoko said sternly. "My whole family is equipped with tracker chips. As soon as they pinpoint-"

"This room was designed with metal plating in the walls," Zero explained. "No radio signal will reach down here, so I'm afraid you're out of luck."

Ryoko looked despondent.

"What are you going to do to me?" she finally asked. "Have your way with me? Torture me? Keep me for your amusement?"

"Gracious, no. I'm not a monster," he said. "I've told you already—all this is for your own good, and the good of those around you. I don't enjoy seeing anyone suffer. That's what sets us apart, you see."

Silence fell between them. It seemed, for a while, that was all Ryoko had to say for the time being. However, just as Zero turned to leave…

"At least…" she began. "At least give me something to pass the time with. I'm so bored, I could die."

"Two thousand yen."

"What?"

"Two thousand yen," he repeated. "Name anything in that budget, and it's yours."

"That's half an appetizer! Not even pocket change!" she protested. "You can't expect me to entertain myself with-"

His eyes weren't joking. Twenty USD was her limit. Ryoko glared at him.

"I get it. You're trying to teach me how to be a poor person, is that it?" she asked, upset. "What a joke. If that's the case, I'd rather…"

Zero waited, but when she did not finish, he started turning to leave once more.

"W…wait!" she begged. He stopped once again. "A… book," she finally requested. "Something classic that will occupy me for a while. And… something to read by."

Zero nodded solemnly. "I'll be back shortly."

* * *

"What's that?" asked Ryuunosuke.

"Reading material. Shakespeare," Zero replied.

"Western stuff? What for?"

"This collection is in Japanese. Take a look."

Ryuunosuke obliged.

" _Othello… Hamlet… A Midsummer Night's Dream… The Taming of the Shrew…_ " Ryuunosuke read aloud. "Hold on, that one sounds familiar."

"Does it, now?"

"I remember some of these from Onsen's English class… that last one, he assigned to me personally."

"Really? What a thing to do." Zero sounded very surprised.

"Why, what's the matter?"

"It's considered to be rather misogynistic. The story is about a man abusing an obstinate woman into behaving in a way he deems desirable."

"And you're givin' that to Ryoko?" she gawked.

"It was a Shakespeare collection, I didn't pay any mind to which plays were included, specifically. Besides, if the comparison were to apply to anyone here…"

He stopped.

"Go on," Ryuu insisted, squinting at Zero suspiciously. He hesitated to continue.

"…well, in any case, the story has more to do with gender roles. It's no comparison to reforming a criminal," Zero defended. With that, he took the collection back under his arm and resumed en route to the basement.

"How's this?" he asked Ryoko, presenting her with the collection.

"Hm… Shakespeare, is it? I've read about half of these… but not in some time, I suppose," she acquiesced. "What else have you got there?"

He revealed some candles and matches he had also been carrying, placing them on the one object in the room: a mid-sized wooden crate.

"You couldn't have gotten a lantern?" she chided.

"As a centuries-old being, I think it's a good exercise to practice the old ways," he told her. "Besides, as I understand, you decorate with these quite often."

Ryoko scowled. She still didn't appreciate someone else probing about inside her mind.

"Well, fine," she scoffed. "When is supper?"

"Breakfast is tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? And what 'til then?" she asked haughtily.

"Hunger. If it's the first time you've felt it, it should be quite the learning experience."

"What? You're joking!"

Zero began to leave once again.

"What… what about a bathroom?!" she asked. No response. Just a click, a lock, and then silence. She was on her own again.

* * *

Ryoko lay still—uncomfortable, but still—on the cold, hard floor, just where she had slept. In the corner of the stone floor was a small puddle of urine. In the other, a crate with a series of wax splotches covering it, the only remains of what once were candles. Zero stepped down from the stairs above.

"Good morning, sunshine," he said ironically. Ryoko did not stir. Stepping closer, he leaned down and placed her hand between her legs, where a small patch of brown hair formed. Running his hand gently around the area caused an unpleasant shudder in Ryoko, until finally, she sprang up with an audible yelp, pulling away from her captor.

"What are you doing?!" she cried.

"Oh, good, you're awake. No sleeping in," he told her. "You know, most folks don't have helicopters they can take to school—they have to get up extra early to walk or catch a train."

"Don't lecture me," she told him. "What… what is that?" she then asked, turning her attention to the small tray he had placed between them.

"Rice and miso soup," he answered. "The traditional Japanese breakfast."

"Where's the meat?" she demanded. "Fish, tofu, toast and jam…?"

Zero stared at her. "You drive a hard bargain," he said, shaking something in his hand. "Two pickles." He placed them on the tray to accompany the meager meal. It looked as if that was really all she was getting, even after going the whole previous day without food.

Ryoko relented. It wasn't much, but it was better than the alternative… and for all she knew, this might be all she was given the entire day. She ate the meal peaceably, but made sure that Zero was aware that she was not happy with it. When she was finished, she placed the dishes back on the tray again.

"I'll even take care of the dishes for you," Zero stated. "You're lucky—most people have to do that themselves."

 _Lucky, he says,_ she thought to herself. She rolled her eyes at the sentiment.

Zero scanned the room. "I see you've made use of the corner."

"Don't… don't look over there!" she protested.

"Yet you haven't answered the other call at all, I see. That's not healthy, you know."

 _He wouldn't._ He couldn't expect her to.

Zero produced a small pad from behind him, spreading it on the floor before her. She knew exactly what he was planning.

"Put that away!" she shouted. "I'm no animal!"

"You are human," he clarified, "and humans are animals. Animals have needs."

"You…!"

"Your gracious host is providing you a service, but this will be the only time today," he explained flatly. "Even if you refuse, you'll eventually have to use the corner, and I'm eventually going to see it. Not only that, but the whole room will smell."

This was too much. Ryoko fought tears.

 _I am not an animal,_ she told herself. _I have pride._

But pride was worth nothing here. Zero had all the cards—every single one. A full day had passed, and there had been no sign at all of her family or servants. No one was coming to save her. For the first time in her life, Ryoko was utterly powerless. She _felt_ powerless.

She bit her lip, wanting desperately to fight the inevitable… but she was unable to counter the reality of the situation. He had her cornered. He was her only source of food, of drink, and of access to the outside world. It hit her then—if it were up to him, it really was possible that she could die here. She had fallen from having everything, to having nothing… not even her status as a human being.

In the end, the survival instinct won out, and with bitter, almost tangible reluctance, she succumbed to Zero's instruction, lowering herself both physically and spiritually to conducting her business right in front of him. He watched the entire process—beginning, middle, and end. Ryoko had finally been broken.

* * *

Zero emerged from the basement with no pad, but a small garbage bag in tow, ready to be thrown out.

"What's that?" asked Ryuunosuke.

"Nothing of value. Just some pride, is all."


	7. Chapter 6: Asuka

"Zero! …Zero!"

An angry-sounding voice resounded from down the school hallway, quickly drawing closer to the otherwise uneventful school shop. Business was slow today, and Zero had only Ryuunosuke to accompany him during the break from her classes.

In moments, the source of the voice revealed itself, as Mendou turned the corner, dashing for the shop at a very brisk pace.

"What's up?" Zero asked.

"I understand you kidnapped my sister in her sleep," he accused. Ryuunosuke sensed conflict. Zero neither confirmed nor denied the statement. "I also understand she was in your 'care' for a full week before we saw her again. What's more, she refuses to speak a word to any of us about what happened during that time."

Mendou drew closer with each accusation, his nose nearly pressing against Zero's in challenge. Ryuunosuke was amazed Mendou hadn't drawn his sword yet… but there was still a good chance it was coming.

"So I'm here to peaceably ask you…" he began. "What did you do to my sister?"

"Well," Zero began calmly, "I-"

"I have to know your secret," Mendou insisted, in much better spirits than either Ryuu or Zero had anticipated. "Since she's come back, she hasn't tried to spy on me, or blow me up, or poison my food… she's even started to show up to family dinners. If I didn't know her better, I'd think she actually appreciated us."

"I would prefer not to disclose my methods, but I'm glad to hear that she's gotten a new outlook on life," replied Zero. "I would advise, to maintain that humility, the family keep her on some level of budget and not give her free reign of the family wealth."

"Yes, yes, of course," Mendou nodded, eagerly taking down notes.

"Of course, this would require you to be held to a similar budget, lest she grow resentful due to favoritism…"

"Me, Shutaro Mendou? Without access to my fabulous wealth? What a laughably absurd thought."

Zero sighed.

"Still, your efforts have not been wasted! If ever you are in need of financial assistance, I, Shutaro Mendou, will gladly offer my aid! Farewell!"

He shouted this in parting as he nearly skipped back down the hallway again.

"Maybe you shoulda given him some of that training, too," Ryuunosuke posited with an eye roll.

"He does know we're technically richer than he is, doesn't he?" asked a confused Zero.

* * *

The day passed uneventfully until the evening, after Ryuunosuke and Zero had both returned to their home. The relaxing peace of the small house was interrupted by two short knocks followed by the front door collapsing. Both residents turned their attention to the opening to see a starry-eyed woman in formal attire standing there at the ready.

"Oh dear, so sorry to trouble you," the strange woman said. She didn't seem to acknowledge the fact that she had just destroyed the door. Even stranger, she made no mention of the fact that the people she had just walked in on were both naked. What grace she had. "I'm looking for a Mr. Zero."

"All right, who's this one?" asked Ryuunosuke with another eye roll.

"How should I know?" he asked her. He then turned his attention to the destructive houseguest. "I am Zero."

"I am the matriarch of the Mizunokoji family," she explained. "A friend of the family has recommended your services… may I come in?"

* * *

"So… your daughter has been raised without any contact with men," said Zero.

"Yes," the woman affirmed.

"And that lech Ataru was the first one she met?" asked Ryuunosuke.

"I was told you were uninvolved with him… is that true?" the woman leaned in to ask.

"We haven't seen him around these parts too much," Zero admitted, though he was wary to jinx himself by saying it out loud. Ryuunosuke was no less so.

"What makes you think he can cure her fear of guys?" she asked.

"I've heard stories of the supposed god now living in Tomobiki," the woman explained. "I assume that to be the reason for your… undress. What about you, young lady? Are you a goddess?"

Ryuunosuke panicked and waved her arms in denial. "No, no! I mean, I'm just… er…"

"She's my favorite student," Zero said with a smile. Ryuunosuke blushed.

"Well, if you are able to successfully cure my daughter's phobia, you would win a mother's eternal gratitude… and of course, a great sum in reward, as well."

Zero contemplated the proposal. It was a rather sudden proposition. Even so, it did seem like a job that was right up his alley.

"All right, we'll do it," he decided.

"We?" asked Ryuunosuke.

"I think it will be a good learning experience for both of us," he explained.

"Excellent, excellent!" the woman exclaimed. "Meet me at the estate tomorrow and we'll discuss any necessary preparations."

* * *

The plans were made.

"Asuka, this is Zero and Ryuunosuke. They're going to be tutoring you today."

"O-Okay, Mother…"

Despite being no less than fifteen, the girl looked as innocent as innocent could be. Her confusion at the strange, circumstantial meeting was understandable. It didn't help that, one, the two strangers were completely naked, and two, her mother had left them alone together no sooner than introductions were made.

"Oh, wow," Asuka gawked. "I feel funny walking around without my armor on, but you guys aren't even wearing any clothes…"

"Armor?" Ryuunosuke whispered.

"Her mother said she likes to wear a suit of armor when going outside," Zero whispered back. "We don't need to worry about it as long as it doesn't become relevant."

Zero had come to this meeting in female form, so as not to frighten off Asuka immediately. In addition to her strange armor fetish, the girl apparently had superhuman strength and speed—the Mizunokojis were grooming champions, it seemed. Her episodes after seeing men had left much of the estate in ruins, in the past.

Getting back to her statement, Zero replied.

"We just find it more comfortable this way," (s)he stated.

"We actually met once before," said Ryuunosuke. "You remember me?"

Asuka thought about it a moment, looking closely at Ryuunosuke.

"Oh, it's you!" she exclaimed. "I remember! I thought you were a man that one time…" She paused. "…you're not a man… are you?"

"Of course not!" Ryuunosuke barked. Asuka pulled back a bit; Zero placed a hand on Ryuu's shoulder to calm her.

"Asuka, do you know the difference between men and women?" Zero asked.

"'Course I do," she insisted. "Men are bad and scary… they make awful noises… they try to grab at you and get you… I don't know how girls like you can go out and live in a world where there are men walking around on the street," she continued. "You must both be really strong."

"That's nice of you to say," Zero laughed, not taking the parts about men personally. "I understand the first man you saw was a very scary one."

"Oh, he was! The maidservants told me his name, but it's just too awful for me to say…"

"That's all right," Zero stopped her. "But… even if he's a very bad man, how do you know that other men are like that?"

"But, but…!" she protested. "They always try to scare me whenever I'm outside…"

"Well… how do you know they're trying to scare you?" the goddess asked. "Have you sat down and talked to any of them?"

"Well… no… but…"

"Let me tell you a story," Zero started. Ryuunosuke, too, listened with curiosity.

"Once, there was a terrible-looking oni with ferocious fangs and sharp, curled horns. The oni lived by himself, just outside of a human village. Everyone who entered the village would have to pass by the oni's house, and were terrified of the great creature every time they saw it. So the villagers decided to root out the oni once and for all.

"First, they sent a skilled swordswoman to face the oni in combat. However, when the swordswoman attacked, she broke her sword on the oni's tough horns, and had to retreat in disgrace.

"Next, they sent an assassin to try to slay the oni while it slept. The sneaky kunoichi tried to poison the oni's food, but the monster caught her in the act, and she disappeared into the night, never to show her face again.

"Finally, the villagers recruited a wise priestess to help them solve the problem of the oni. The priestess listened to their tale and then departed for the monster's house. Once there, she walked right up to the terrifying oni and asked it what it was doing near the village.

"'I wish to live near people,' said the oni, 'but the people are afraid of me. They attack me and flee from me, even though I have done nothing to them,' he explained.

"The priestess heard the oni's tale, then returned to the village to recount it for them. When the villagers learned that the oni was peaceful, they welcomed him into the village, and he was allowed to live happily in the village, just as he had wanted to."

Zero paused for a moment, allowing Asuka to absorb the story. It looked as if it had worked, and she was seriously contemplating things.

"Just because you met one bad oni doesn't mean they're all bad," Zero simplified. "I know a couple of nice oni myself. You just have to give them the chance to talk to you before you decide to attack or run away."

"But… but the man I saw was _really_ scary!" Asuka defended. Zero knew it wasn't going to be that easy to change her mind.

"Don't worry about him," Zero told her. "Even if he shows up, I'll keep him away from you. Okay?"

Asuka withdrew timidly at even the thought of Moroboshi making an appearance.

" _It was a good try, but… where'd you pull that story from?"_ Ryuunosuke whispered.

" _Actually, I just made it up,"_ Zero admitted. He then turned his attention back to Asuka. "What do you think of the two of us?" Zero asked, changing the subject.

"You both seem very nice," Asuka replied with a smile. "Even if your fashion sense is a little funny."

 _A girl who wears a suit of armor is the last person to be talking about fashion,_ Ryuunosuke thought to herself. Zero stifled a chuckle.

"What if I told you I had the power to make myself look like a man?" Zero then asked.

"Look… look like a man?" Asuka asked, nervously. "You mean… dress like one? Like Miss Ryuu?"

"Not anymore," Ryuunosuke corrected.

"Not just my clothes, but my whole body. I'll look just like the genuine article," Zero boasted. "But I'll still be a girl on the inside."

"Wh… why would you do a thing like that?" Asuka asked. "Is that how you two can walk around with men? Because you have disguises?"

"I'm going to use my power now," Zero announced, ignoring the inquiry. "Remember, I'm only going to look like a man on the outside, okay?"

"W-what? But… Mother never said anything about this…!" Asuka protested. As she did so, Zero had already begun his transformation. It was coming whether she wanted to see it or not.

"It's okay," Ryuunosuke tried to reassure her. "It'll help you learn to talk to them, right?"

Asuka trembled and cowered as the transformation finished, leaving a very muscular, very male Zero sitting where the previously-female version had been sitting only a moment ago.

"Don't be scared," the male Zero instructed. "I'll stay right here."

"Wah! You sound different!" the startled Asuka cried.

"My voice is deeper, but it's still me," Zero announced. He stood up to demonstrate his new form, and Asuka reeled back towards the wall behind her. Sensing her discomfort, Zero sent a telepathic suggestion Ryuunosuke's way.

"Asuka," Ryuu started, following the tip, "would you like me to come over and sit by you?"

Asuka gave little more response than a shaky nod and a trembling "Y-yes…"

Ryuunosuke shifted over to Asuka's side of the room so that the two of them were opposite the male Zero. Worst case scenario, this might reinforce the concept of men and women being segregated to Asuka, but right now it was more important that she didn't feel alone and cornered. Zero continued to speak as he stood opposite the two of them.

"Aside from my voice, you can also see that my shoulders are broader, my breasts are gone, and… well… you know about the rest, I'm sure."

As he motioned casually to his groin, Asuka dared to lean only the slightest bit closer, feeling just a little more confident with Ryuu right beside her. Her eyes lit with recognition.

"You have the same funny thing as my big brother!" she deduced.

"Eh?" asked Ryuu, confused. "You've seen your big brother's…?"

"Yes, all the time in the bath," Asuka giggled, completely unashamed. "Is Miss Zero like a big brother to you?" she asked Ryuunosuke. It would have been a strange question, but it was becoming apparent that Asuka's grasp of the term "big brother" may not have been complete.

"Why are you and your brother still bathing together?" Ryuu asked.

"Eh? Why wouldn't we? I love my big brother~!" Asuka smiled.

"But… you can't-" Ryuunosuke started, stopping short as she was interrupted by a commotion in the distance.

"Hey! Stop! You're not allowed on our property!" a male voice could be heard shouting nearby.

"Oh! That's Big Brother now!" Asuka said excitedly. Unfortunately, her brother's wasn't the only voice that was heard.

"A-su-ka-chaaan~!" a familiar cry rang out. Asuka got goosebumps at the sound of it.

As if on cue, the grinning face of Ataru Moroboshi appeared from around the corner outside the building, focusing straight on Asuka against the back wall. Asuka screamed at the sight of him.

"Oh, for goodness… I knew I had jinxed it," Zero sighed. Within moments, Moroboshi was helplessly suspended in the air, protesting in futility as Zero spoke to Ryuunosuke. "You keep talking with Asuka for now, I'll take care of him."

"What? Me? What I am supposed to-"

And just like that, Zero and the menace were gone, off to some far corner of the property. Ryuunosuke was now left in charge of this awkward reformation, alone in an open-air room with the terrified Asuka.

"Ahhhh~!"

"Hey… hey!" Ryuunosuke shouted. "He's gone. You can stop screaming now."

Asuka piped down and looked around, confirming that both Moroboshi and the male Zero were nowhere to be seen. It was just the two girls alone together, now.

"Did… did she really get rid of the bad man?" she asked.

"Miste- er, Miss Zero is very, very strong. Even that freak is no match for her," Ryuunosuke insisted.

"That's good." Asuka breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment, all was quiet.

"Hey, listen… you said earlier you loved your big brother," Ryuunosuke started, curiously. "You didn't mean you were… _in_ love with him, did you?"

"What do you mean?" Asuka asked, confused.

"Well, like… you don't want to marry him, do you?"

"I'm supposed to marry another big brother."

"Eh?"

"But, really… I like my big brother better," she admitted.

"Wait, you have two big brothers?"

"I'm sure there are lots of big brothers out there," explained Asuka. "I only know two, though. I think, if I could, I'd like to marry _my_ big brother."

"You can't do that, though!"

"Eh? Why not?" Asuka pouted.

"Well, 'cause… you're not supposed to marry big brothers, is all."

"Why?"

"Why? Because, uh… well…"

Ryuunosuke thought about it. She knew there had to be a reason. For the life of her, though, she had never stopped to think about what it might be.

While she sat on that, a familiar voice was heard stepping in from outside once again.

"Sorry about that interruption," said Zero. "As you can see, I'm all alone. The pest is gone and he's being well-guarded."

* * *

"Put me down, NOW! How dare you keep me from my beloved Asuka! Demon! Homewrecker! Enemy of love!"

Moroboshi kicked and flailed, suspended in the air under the power of another very unamused Zero standing guard.

"Give it up," he said. "Besides, I don't think you want your fiancée hearing about—oh, speak of the oni."

The familiar tiger-clad figure of Lum flew up, appearing none too happy with her darling.

"Again?! I can't believe you!" she scolded Ataru. "It's because of you that Asuka has these problems at all!"

"Hey, Lum," Zero greeted her casually.

"Oh, hi, Zero," she returned just as casually as she held Ataru in a neck lock.

"I heard about the fight. Too bad about that."

"It's all right," she admitted. "Things still worked out. Wanna hear about it?"

* * *

"Zero, listen," Ryuunosuke began. "She's got a serious thing for her brother. Real serious."

"Ah, yes, right," Zero recalled. "That's part of the reason we were asked here. So, you and Asuka talked about that, did you?"

Asuka nodded sheepishly. She was still very nervous around the male Zero.

"Well, yeah," said Ryuunosuke, "but… that's the thing. I wanted to know what you thought about it. Can you tell her why it is brothers and sisters aren't supposed to… well, y'know."

Zero looked amused. Ryuunosuke wouldn't be asking if she'd known the reason herself. He then put his hand on his chin to contemplate his explanation.

"Well… the bottom line is, it's a matter of genetics," he explained. "If they have a baby together, it can increase the chance of birth defects. If there are no plans to have kids… well, in theory, there'd be no problem. But we both know Mrs. Mizunokoji has other plans. After all, if Asuka were to marry her brother and never have kids, it would mean the end of the Mizunokoji line. Family lines are a touchy subject here in Japanese society."

"I, uh… I see." Ryuunosuke hadn't been expecting such an elaborate answer. "Then what about-"

"Of course," Zero continued unabated, "that itself raises some philosophical questions of morality… like, say, if one person carries a certain problematic gene that's more than likely going to occur in their children, is that person morally obligated to never reproduce? Is it fair to expect that of a person, to deny them the right to children? It's an interesting philosophical conundrum…"

And, he was gone. Ryuunosuke could tell when Zero had sunk into his own philosophical ramblings and wouldn't be coming out anytime soon. There was no point trying to carry a two-way conversation with him until he was good and finished.

"In any case, love is a rare and beautiful thing," he raised his head in conclusion. "My advice to you, Asuka, is that if you decide you truly love your brother and no one else… that's fine. But you can't know if he's your one and only until you give other men a chance. For your mother's sake, you should try to make friends with some others before you commit."

"For her mother's sake?" Ryuunosuke asked. The thought of someone having to meet a certain expectation because of what their parents wanted them to do didn't sit well with Ryuunosuke, for obvious reasons… but Zero was doing his best to reach a compromise that included everyone's best interests. She couldn't really begrudge him for that.

"I'll… I'll keep trying," Asuka cautiously assured both of them.

"Asuka, can I ask you something?" Zero asked.

"O-okay," she whispered.

"Do you still think I'm scary?"

"Well… just a little," she admitted. "Not as much as before."

"Would it be okay if I shook your hand?"

Asuka didn't reply. After a moment, she hesitantly reached her hand out, inch by inch. Not wasting the opportunity, Zero inched closer without standing and gently placed his hand around hers for only the briefest of moments. Asuka didn't scream. She may have closed her eyes, but she didn't scream.

When she opened them once more, she saw a different Zero return.

"Wah!" she jumped. "You're a girl again!"

"Why don't I come back to visit sometime?" Zero offered with a smile.

* * *

"We're coming back?" asked Ryuunosuke as the two of them headed home.

"Of course," Zero answered, stoically. "Our mission is not a destination, but a journey. Our work will never _really_ be finished."

"Well then… what's the point of doing it?" Ryuunosuke asked.

Zero paused. "Well, when you get right down to it, there isn't really a point to anything. The world goes on without either of us, humans or gods. It's up to each of us as individuals to decide whether we're going to make the best out of the world we've got, or not."

"Make the best of what we've got, huh?" Ryuu asked. She pondered that for a minute. "Yeah, okay. I guess I can get behind that."


	8. Chapter 7: Benten II

Things had settled down, somewhat… but still, even though Ryuunosuke hadn't committed to being a full-on apprentice, simply shadowing Zero and helping along his machinations was starting to feel like a full-time job. The number of people that were coming to him kept them both busy. She didn't know how he managed it.

There was Mendou, who was now updating Zero on Ryoko's behavioral status… Lum, who was coming to Zero for marital advice… there was Asuka and the Mizunokojis he was still working with… not to mention running the school store and staying in touch with Shinobu, who had become a sort of liaison between him and the student body. Ryuunosuke and Zero hadn't had much time at all to spend with each other. And truthfully, ever since a lot of these incidents had started, Ryuunosuke had more and more on her mind to talk to him about…

"Hey Zero," she mentioned one day. "Be honest… you like bein' a girl, don't you?"

"What's this all the sudden?" Zero asked.

"You've been spendin' a lot of time in your lady form at the store, and at Asuka's," said Ryuu. "I'm just sayin', y'know… I don't mind if you just wanna stay that way all the time."

Zero grinned, a little deviously. "Are you saying that for my sake, or because _you_ want to see more of it?" he asked.

"Well, I mean…" Normally, Ryuunosuke would have gotten nervous, defensive, or back in the day, angry. She knew he was prodding her, but… that was just because maybe she wasn't being completely honest with him, or herself. Maybe it was time to come clean.

"I've been thinkin' about it more," she said, "since we talked to Asuka that first time. I was really surprised when you said it might be okay for a brother and sister to fall in love, and that got me to thinkin'… you know, maybe there are other kinds of unconventional love out there."

Zero nodded. "I certainly think so. What about you, then? Is there someone on your mind?"

"Someone? Er, well…" Ryuunosuke hesitated to continue. "I _have_ thought about it… what it would be like. You know… with another girl."

"That's great!" Zero nearly made Ryuu jump with how excited he sounded. What a weird thing for him to get excited over. "Who's the lucky girl?" he asked, eagerly. "Is it Shinobu? I bet you like Shinobu."

"Eh? What?" the confused Ryuunosuke asked. "No, I mean, I was just talkin', like, what if…! Besides, we all know Shinobu likes guys, right?"

Zero fell back, returning to his usual contemplative face that he assumed when contemplating things.

"Hmm… that's true. I don't think she's interested in that," he admitted. He thought on it some more. "I think I know someone," he grinned.

* * *

"Ehhh? Benten?" asked Ryuunosuke, aghast. "No way! We're just friends, is all…!"

"Aw, come on," Zero prodded. "She said she was interested in you."

"When I said I was curious, I was thinkin' you might just stay as a girl for a bit, or somethin'… why the hell do you wanna hook me up with someone else so bad, anyway?"

"It's not that, so much as… well… hmm…" Zero pondered his next words. "As for my position… it's kind of like I'm seeing my little girl start to make friends at school for the first time."

Ryuunosuke didn't like that analogy. Zero continued anyway.

"I'm not going to suggest you start getting involved with everyone at school, or anything… but testing the waters with more than one partner is a sort of life experience. It broadens your horizons as a person."

"You just want an excuse so that you can sleep with other girls, don't you?" Ryuunosuke accused through leering eyes.

"Not… not at all," he insisted. "Really, I mean it. This is an important part of the Zero philosophy."

"Anyway, maybe I liked Shinobu, but Benten… eh…" Ryuunosuke pondered. "If I'm gonna do something with a girl, why can't it be a _girl_ girl, y'know? Benten is so…"

She hesitated with her words.

"I think you're too hard on her. She's very sweet and charming once you sit down with her," Zero insisted. This brought another suspicious glare from Ryuunosuke. "Besides, she's 100% female born. Even if I were in my female form, you'd still be thinking of me as a man on the inside, wouldn't you? That's how we met, after all."

Ryuunosuke gave up. He had her there.

"You're really okay with this?" she finally asked, a hint of concern in her voice.

"I'm secure about the two of us," he insisted, calmly. "Of course, it's natural, that human fear of 'what if they like being with the other person better…' but I know you, and I know you feel the same way I do: no one can replace what we have. I have faith that you'll come back."

Ryuunosuke pondered that. She'd never heard of anyone being so open in a relationship before… could that even work? Were the two of them even in a relationship? It had sure functioned as one for a while now, but it wasn't like she and Zero had been officially calling each other their main fling or anything. Still, what he had just told her sure sounded like relationship talk.

Ryuunosuke decided to test something. The way she decided to test it was to blurt out three words without thinking too much about them… three words whose response would speak volumes about where the two of them stood. With only that brief moment's consideration, Ryuunosuke said:

"I love you."

To that, Zero didn't hesitate.

"I love you, too."

* * *

Ryuunosuke sat somewhat awkwardly on the edge of Benten's bed, awaiting her host with baited breath. She and Zero had reasoned that it wouldn't be as much the new experience if it was at her own place and not at Benten's. Besides, it was nice to finally see it after all this time—despite hanging around with so many aliens, Ryuunosuke realized she'd never actually been out to space before. That, too, was a new experience.

"Ready?" a voice came.

"Y-yes!" Ryuu suddenly sat straight up, at attention. Without another word, Benten swaggered out wearing her usual skimpy metal armor. Whatever prep she'd had to do in the bathroom, it hadn't been much. "S-sorry," Ryuunosuke apologized with a nervous blush. "This is… kinda new to me."

Benten giggled aloud. "You can be cute, you know that?"

"E…eh?"

"You're so tough and confident in a fight, but when it comes to things like this…"

"Don't make fun of me," Ryuunosuke pouted, obstinately.

Benten leaned in next to Ryuu, who couldn't help but swallow. She'd been around girls plenty, but none of them had ever acted this way towards her before. Ryuunosuke looked down at Benten's metal bra.

 _That's… pretty awesome,_ she thought to herself. After so many years coveting them, Ryuunosuke had become something of a bra enthusiast. The way Benten's cupped her girls, giving them shape while also leaving the center open, showing as much skin as possible… it might've been the sexiest bra in the universe.

Noticing Ryuu's line of sight, Benten made an offer.

"Mind taking it off for me?"

The nervous look on Ryuunosuke's face was that of a teenaged boy seeing a girl for the first time. With Ryuu's upbringing, Benten knew that made too much sense.

After some misguided fumbling, it became obvious that Ryuu needed a bit of help with the alien device.

"There are latches on the sides," Benten explained. With help, Ryuunosuke found them, releasing the cups and allowing Benten's breasts to assume their natural shape. Turned out the bra wasn't doing that much—they were perky enough on their own.

Benten waited a moment or two, allowing Ryuunosuke free reign over where the two of them went next. Without hesitating, Ryuu glomped on to one of the great hills like a starved infant. Unprepared for the sudden stimulation, Benten let out a small noise before catching herself.

 _You'd think she'd never seen them before…!_ Benten thought to herself. _Maybe it has something to do with Ryuu never having a mom…_

Her thoughts were interrupted as Ryuu's ferocity intensified. Soon enough, Benten had to ask her to slow it down, at least long enough for her to catch her bearings.

"You still have to show me yours," Benten insisted. As for Ryuu's part, she'd honestly forgotten about it. Now that it had come up, Ryuu didn't mind taking off her shirt and shorts. She'd come wearing clothes for fear of weirding out Benten, but by this point, Ryuu was more used to being naked, anyway.

"Oh wow," Benten remarked, eyeing Ryuunosuke's groin. "You're so… smooth. I never pictured you to be the type of girl who obsessed over that."

It took Ryuunosuke a moment to realize that Benten was talking about her body hair, which she'd allowed Zero to permanently remove for her some time ago… seemed like less of a bother that way. Maybe she'd taken it for granted, though.

"As for me… eheheh…" Benten shyly removed her panties to reveal a black patch of her own. What with Zero and all, it had been a while since Ryuu had seen hair like that. "I hope you don't mind."

"It's, uh… it's cool," Ryuu replied awkwardly. She'd never been asked if she minded before.

The two went back into each other's arms, Benten taking the lead this time. Ryuunosuke's initial adventurousness had been overtaken by her lack of experience with another girl… especially one she had only known as a passing friend. She found it hard to open up, and Benten took it slowly to accommodate. Slowly, gradually, over the course of the evening, Ryuu warmed up to her friend's touch in the same way she had warmed up to Zero's when they were training all that time ago.

Benten, too, enjoyed herself once Ryuunosuke managed to get into the swing of things. She'd taken a gamble in deciding to humor Zero's request, but realized now that she and Ryuu had at least some amount of chemistry. More than that, she realized how Zero had gotten so attached to Ryuunosuke—the tough girl act was too much fun to bring down. Not that she'd ever tell Ryuu that, of course.

Just the same, Ryuunosuke was surprised at how gentle and controlled Benten's touch was. It was almost like she was a completely different person from the wild, chain-wielding biker-brawler she had come to know in all their past interactions together. Benten was probably the sort of girl who had a lot of different sides to her.

By the time the two had finished their excursion, each of them felt like they knew the other quite a bit better from it. Maybe a little too well to hang out on weekends, now, but… they hadn't been doing that anyway, so no real loss. Benten was certainly satisfied with how the way things had turned out—it had made for an interesting way to spend the evening. As she looked at Ryuu now lying beside her, though, she could tell that something was on her friend's mind.

"Whatcha thinkin' about?" she asked bluntly.

"Eh? Mmm…" Ryuunosuke weighed her words. "I guess it's just… weird," she finally said. "When I came here… heck, when I first started thinking about girls not too long ago… I thought it'd go one of two ways. I thought either I'd turn completely and have to give up on Zero, or else… maybe I wouldn't feel anything, and it'd just be a waste of time."

"So?" Benten asked. "Which was it?"

"Like I said, it's weird. I think… I still like being with him, but… I kinda liked this, too. In a different way."

"That's not so weird," remarked Benten.

"It's not?"

"Nah," she replied. "It's totally okay to like both. In different ways, the same way… whatever. Why would there be anything wrong with that?"

"Nothin' wrong with it," said Ryuunosuke. "I just… didn't think that was me, is all."

"I'm kinda that way," said Benten. "Sometimes I'm interested in a guy… sometimes I'll play with girls. Y'know, it keeps things interesting."

"You like both?"

"Sometimes. If I didn't, I wouldn'ta messed around with both you and Zero. It's nice that you're both so cool with it."

"Eh?" Ryuunosuke doubled back. "Whaddya mean, you and Zero?"

"He didn't tell you?" Benten asked. "I mean, I did kinda push it on him… but yeah, he and I did some stuff."

Somewhere along the line, Ryuunosuke had had a feeling that something like that would happen… or had been happening. She'd known he was the god of passion, but still… something about hearing it, having it told to her. It hurt. It didn't make her angry, or violent, or upset her in any of the usual ways she had grown accustomed to with her father. It was a real, stinging cut.

"You okay?" Benten asked, concerned.

"Hey, can you get me back to Earth?" Ryuunosuke asked plainly. Clearly she didn't want to have an in-depth conversation with Benten about this. Benten respected as much.

"Sure. Give me a few minutes."

* * *

Zero and Ryuunosuke stood in opposition.

"Why didn't you tell me about you and Benten?" she asked him, trying to hide any pain in her voice.

"Should I have?" he asked her. "It wasn't something I had planned, but-"

"It doesn't matter if it was planned or not," Ryuunosuke countered. "I know you're a god, and you have all these things you want to do, but… I thought… I thought _that_ was something just between us. Why do you think I felt so weird about going to Benten's?"

"Ryuunosuke…"

"I thought I was special to you."

A brief silence fell between them as Zero allowed Ryuunosuke her piece. After her words had had a moment to sink in, he spoke.

"I'm sorry," said Zero. "I never meant to hurt you. But… if you'll hear me out, there's something I think I should explain. May I?"

Ryuunosuke calmed herself with a deep breath. With some reluctance, she answered: "I'm listening."

"I understand how you feel as a human," he began. "But understand… I am immortal. I've lived for thousands upon thousands of years. I've known countless generations of humans before you, and even if I live out your entire life by your side, I will continue to live for eons after you've gone, on and on into infinity. Would you have me never love again, in all that time of living?"

Ryuunosuke began to well up. "Well… no… but…" Being reminded of how different their worlds were, and how short their time together had been from his perspective… it hurt to hear. Ryuunosuke had never really spent much time thinking about her own mortality, and now that it was being scaled next to Zero's lack of mortality… she had never felt less significant.

"My world is such that I can never give myself to one person forever," he continued. "This is because… the word 'forever' just means two very different things to us."

 _That's it, then,_ Ryuunosuke thought, the tears now coming. _I was never anything great to him. Just another one in an endless chain…_

"That said…" He leaned in close. His touch brought her attention back from the pit of self-doubt. "You mean more to me than anyone else in this world. In any world." He drew closer still. "In all the omniverse, there is no one I'd rather be spending my time with than you."

Ryuunosuke looked at him, trying to read him, and wiped the tears from her eyes, putting on her best brave face. It was a hard thing to do in this circumstance. Even with all the sweet-talk in the world, and even if he really did love her from the bottom of his heart, it didn't change that what he had said to her was the truth: Ryuunosuke realized now that they were from two different worlds. And more importantly, no amount of logic changed the way she felt inside.

Ryuunosuke sniffed.

"Is that what it means to be human, then?" she asked. "Is it because I'm flawed… because I'm human that I want you all to myself?"

Zero didn't have an answer for her.

"I know I can't have you forever," she admitted. "But at least, while I'm here, you could…" Ryuunosuke paused, and Zero did not interject. He had nothing more he could add. The nature of their relationship… all of this was a lot of new perspective for Ryuunosuke to take in at once. After a few moments of contemplation, she finally came to a conclusion.

"I think… I need some time on my own for a little while."


	9. Chapter 8: Ryuunosuke II

Ryuunosuke had been spending most of her time at home in her room and away from Zero for several days now. Since the incident with Benten, she'd been reminded all too clearly of the insurmountable obstacles that stood in the way of their relationship… barriers of space, of time, and of spirit. It would have been a lot to wrap her head around even without all the emotional turmoil.

She wanted to understand Zero's side of things, but still… it seemed it was just her human heart that was getting in the way. Yet another barrier that divided them. No matter how much she tried to reason things out one way or another, she just couldn't change the way she was feeling on the inside.

It was better to separate herself from her feelings for a little while. To that end, she kept to herself at home. Zero respected her wishes and gave her the space she needed. He continued dealing with the various commitments he had made by himself, and in his free time, did his usual physical training for… whatever it was he always seemed to be training for. The only thing he still did for Ryuunosuke was prepare her meals. He wanted to do that for her, at least.

It was curious, then, when one day, Ryuunosuke noticed that her bento box was not prepared and left in its usual spot. In fact, it didn't look like Zero was even awake yet. He was lying in the middle of the living room floor, sound asleep, even though it was already time for Ryuunosuke to head to school.

 _The hell? Did he fall asleep in the middle'a something?_ Ryuunosuke wondered. It wasn't the end of the world if she had to buy lunch for a day—she just wished she'd known in advance. Hopefully he'd be up in time for his responsibilities manning the student store, at least.

Ryuunosuke let him be and headed off to class. The school day passed slowly, and it was surprisingly quiet for her group. None of the typical antics plagued their studies today. It was almost a little boring. At lunchtime, Ryuu bought some curry bread and decided to check the student store, just out of curiosity. To her surprise, the store was closed, and Zero was nowhere to be seen. That was unlike him… very curious.

When she finally arrived home at the end of the day, she saw Zero lying on the floor in exactly the same spot she had left him that morning. Something was amiss. Ryuunosuke immediately went over to check his vitals.

 _He's still breathing,_ she noted. _His heart's beating, but…_ he didn't react at all to her touch. No amount of prodding or shaking seemed to wake him up. Something was seriously wrong—she needed a doctor.

* * *

"There's no easy way to say this, but he's in some kind of coma," explained Sakura, the school nurse. At Ryuunosuke's insistence, she had taken the time to pay an emergency house visit.

"What's that mean?" asked Ryuu. "Can we do anything?"

"The short and simple of it is… we wait for him to wake up. He's going to need some kind of life support, though."

"But he's immortal," said Ryuu. "He can't… die, can he?"

"I don't know," Sakura answered. "I'm a human doctor. I don't know how his body works or what, if anything, might end his life. You've told me he eats, so he must need food, right?"

"Right… I guess," thought Ryuu.

"He breathes and pumps blood like a human, too, so it would be a good idea to make sure all that continues. Putting him in a care facility, though… it won't be cheap."

"He's not from this world," explained Ryuu. "He doesn't have a legal name, or birthday, or papers, or… or any of the stuff we'd need to put him in a hospital," she fretted. This was all happening very fast.

"That's true…" Sakura contemplated. "I can try to work out getting some equipment for you here, but I won't be able to rent it for free. You're also going to have to be the one taking care of him."

"What? Here? Me?"

"That's all I can do, Ryuunosuke. I wish there was something else, but he's not a student, so… my hands are tied."

Ryuunosuke thought long and hard about where to go with this. She couldn't abandon him. Even after the spats they'd had, he had done so much for her… if it wasn't for him, she wouldn't have the food, the house, the very life she was now enjoying. Now that he was gone… would she be able to support her new life, much less support him on top of it?

He'd done it for her so long, after all.

"I'll do whatever I have to," Ryuu told Sakura. The nurse nodded.

"I'll make the arrangements and get everything set up in a few hours. It'll be up to you after that."

* * *

Times would be hard on Ryuunosuke for a while. The emotional turmoil she had been through with Zero just before this had happened was bad enough… it killed her to know that the last words she had said to him amounted to "stay away from me."

"One of the Ataru erasers, please."

"Sure," said Ryuu, ringing up the sale. "I don't figure you'd wanna donate any to the Zero recovery fund?"

"I'll throw in a couple yen," Lum replied. She tossed in a coin or two. "You're working so hard, Ryuunosuke… are things really that tough?"

"Someone's gotta run the store, right? Not like I haven't done it before." She forced a laugh. "Y'know I've gotta support myself, now that Zero… well, y'know…"

"You still haven't figured out what's the matter with him?" Shinobu asked, stepping into the conversation from behind Lum.

Ryuunosuke sighed. "I dunno… maybe I relied on him too much. I never realized just how much he was doin' for both of us until he stopped doin' it all."

"Don't blame yourself," Shinobu said, reassuringly. "Maybe it's just some weird illness that will pass, like a god cold. There's always hope, right?"

"Hope, yeah…" Ryuu trailed off, somberly. "It's just been a lot to deal with. Everyone who was countin' on Zero is suddenly at my doorstep. Classmates, townsfolk, even the school principal, and I'm the one who has to break the news to 'em. So many things fall apart when a person just… stops everything."

Lum and Shinobu glanced at each other, then gave Ryuunosuke a smile each.

"He's lucky to have you looking out for him," Lum told her.

"A man's only as good as his better half," added Shinobu.

* * *

Ryuunosuke returned home tired, as had become the norm. She'd been running back home from school every break period, and then as soon as the store closed at the end of the day. She'd had to fight tooth and nail for exclusion from regular scheduled cleanup duty, due to circumstances… and running the store took up all her extracurricular time at school. Every lunch period, then again for an hour after classes ended, she manned the shop selling what she could in order to make enough to support herself as well as Zero. Money was dwindling fast, even with the students who supported the self-instated "Zero recovery fund."

She made her own hasty lunch every morning, with only a minimal breakfast. She had to do all her own grocery shopping, which she was not at all experienced doing, not to mention all her own laundry, cleaning, and everything else around the house she had been taking for granted.

And then there was Zero himself.

Anytime Ryuunosuke could make it home, she had to check his vitals for any signs of change. Every other day, she would change out his intravenous feed, which she had to visit a specialty supplier to stock. He had a few other things that needed changed out semiregularly, and every so often she would go over him gently with a wet rag. She noticed his breathing patterns shifted just ever so slightly when she laid hands on him, and at times, she would speak out loud, hoping that he could hear her in some capacity.

"Hey… Zero. I don't know if you're there, but I hope you're not worried about me. I can take care of myself, you watch," she assured him. Obviously, there was no response.

"Today was rough… sales have been slipping at the store. School's almost over, and no one's really lookin' for supplies or anything… whatever you were doin' in the way of campaigns looks to be wearing off. Maybe I'm just not as good a businessperson as you were. I still get visits from the first-year girls, but not so many since I'm not wearin' that boys' uniform anymore.

"English has been my toughest class. I never really asked you if you spoke English. Livin' as long as you have, I gotta imagine you'd be pretty worldly, wouldn't you? Oh, and speaking of worldly, I still haven't heard from my pop. He must still be out there somewhere, wandering the countryside.

"Oh, there was this one thing that happened today… Moroboshi came to the store close before closing. I could tell by the look on his stupid face that he was up to something. He did his usual flirting, tryin' to butter me up…

"Then he tried to make a joke, I think.

"He said he'd give me a big pile of yen if… if I'd give him a kiss. I wanted to smack him for that. Right upside his goofy grin. He knows him sayin' things like that always gives me the willies. Just imagining it with his ugly mug… well, anyway, you get the picture. But even with all that… even with all that…

"I needed money. I'm not makin' enough to keep all this up. So… I said okay. I knew I was gonna regret it. I knew that, but… I swallowed my pride and I told him it was okay. I never felt lower.

"Don't worry, nothin' came of it… Lum showed up and zapped him like she usually does. I was kind of relieved at that, her getting in the way and all. Still, part of me thinks I shouldn'ta been. I need the money… _we_ need the money.

"I know he'll be back again once he can get away from Lum. I made the mistake of givin' him an inch. What I don't know is if he's gonna keep it to himself or not… maybe I'll get the reputation for sellin' facetime or something. I hope not. But… if it does go down like that, am I gonna have to go through with it? I don't really wanna think about it."

Ryuunosuke hadn't realized it, but she'd begun to tear up a bit at all this talk of her troubles. Here she was talking to someone who in all likelihood couldn't hear a word she was saying.

"I'm a lonely, pathetic girl, ain't I?" she wallowed. The tears she was fighting began to creep their way out. "I need help, Zero. I wanted to do this alone, to show you I could, but… I still need you."

Ryuunosuke's quiet sobbing filled the room. Seconds, minutes passed in this somber state… until, one moment, without warning, Zero began to glow dimly. Ryuunosuke looked up at his body as the glow slowly turned into a bright eclipse. When it had passed, a person Ryuu had never seen was standing there in the room with her and Zero.

"After all the time I spent tracking you down, you're not the one… what a waste of time," the man(?) mused to Zero's body. He was humanoid, if barely. His build was narrow, wiry, and very angular in structure. His limbs, which began as solid appendages, seemed to melt into liquid partway, then end in wispy, gaseous clouds. His skin—if it could be called that—was a very dark, near-black shade of violet, and though he had a mouth, his face was without eyes, nose, or any other discernable features. Ryuunosuke had never imagined a creature such as this, let alone seen one.

"Who are you?!" she demanded, taking a defensive stance beside the unconscious Zero.

The mysterious being turned its eyeless gaze to Ryuunosuke.

"You're human, aren't you?" he asked her in a low, resonating tone. "This is not your affair."

As he raised one of his wisp-appendages towards her, Ryuu instinctively took a step back, bumping into Zero's body. As if spring-loaded, Zero reacted to her touch by leaping from his reclined position to defend against the monster's attack, dispelling the wispy appendage with a glowing hand of his own. Both he and the dark entity took a moment to react, it to Zero and Zero to his surroundings.

"What's all this?" he asked, motioning to the tubes coming out of his body. Without waiting for an answer, he pulled them from himself, causing some blood to shed for a moment or two before the wounds on his body healed themselves up again.

"Z-Zero! You're awake!" the stunned Ryuunosuke stated.

"Zero?" the dark one asked. "Is that the name you have chosen?"

"Who's asking?" Zero replied.

"I am the god of dreams, Morpheus," the being replied. "I came seeking a certain entity, which I had reason to believe dwelled inside of you… but after probing your mind and body for some time, it has become apparent that you are not the carrier I'm looking for."

"Are the others who have been after me working for you?" Zero demanded.

"Others, you say?" Morpheus replied. "I see. If our forces are wasting time and manpower pursuing a false lead like you, then you are a liability to all of us." Without any time for further discourse, Morpheus raised one of his ethereal appendages to attack both Zero and Ryuunosuke, the former of which countered with his own attack just in time to deflect the force of his enemy's blast upwards. With that attack, they gained a skylight.

Ryuunosuke watched on, shocked and confused, as Zero tried to force the dark creature out of their home and into the sky above.

"Go, Ryuunosuke!" he shouted. "Anywhere but here!"

Ryuu blinked as she looked up, planted firmly on her backside on the floor of their now-damaged home. After several seconds, she finally came to grasp the situation. Without wasting time arguing, she took off towards the school. As she ran, she heard an explosion behind her. She stopped a moment to look back at her home—or, what had once been her home. It looked to have taken a second blast, and now… there was nothing left.

"Keep going!"

Ryuunosuke heard Zero's voice once again, and after another second, started back on her way… only to be blown back by an explosion in front of her. When the dust cleared, Morpheus was again in front of her. Fight or flight time.

"Ha!"

Ryuunosuke attempted a punch, which went through the amorphous god as if he weren't there at all. Puzzled, Ryuunosuke turned back to see one of his appendages now aimed squarely at her. The air around it was rippling. Something was coming.

Before she could tell what had happened, Ryuu saw Zero appear between the two of them, intercepting whatever attack Morpheus was launching. The force of the blow was enough to eviscerate even Zero, splattering him into several pieces in much the same way she'd seen a grenade do before. As Ryuu struggled to wrap her head around all that had happened in the past few seconds, Morpheus smiled triumphantly, obviously pleased with himself.

He failed to predict the second Zero rearing up on him from behind, however. Like Zero before him, Morpheus, too, was blown to smithereens, leaving Ryuu confused and alone with the one remaining Zero.

"What just… happened?" she asked.

"Hopefully, we won," the remaining Zero answered.

"But… won't he just come back? Like you do?"

"Watch."

Ryuunosuke's impromptu questionnaire was interrupted as the pieces of both Morpheus and the first Zero began to congregate into their original forms once more. In moments, Morpheus was back to his old self, but now confronted with two Zeros.

The god of dreams glanced behind him at the second Zero, then to each of his sides. As he looked around, he saw more and more Zeros appearing out of nowhere, eventually forming a small army of the opposing god. Morpheus scowled, dissatisfied with the situation. Assessing his odds, he came to a conclusion.

"You are not my quarry," he announced. "Live in peace."

With those parting words, he vanished into the aether from whence he presumably came. And just like that, the Zeros began disappearing, one by one.

"Of all the things for him to say," the last remaining Zero criticized.

"Who were… how did…"

Poor Ryuunosuke was thoroughly lost with all that had just happened. Was that what a fight between gods looked like? It had all been in such a short period of time, she'd need a while to wrap her head around it.

Zero, too, had a lot to catch up on.

* * *

"I was… comatose, then?"

"You were under for weeks," Ryuunosuke explained.

"I recall being found by Morpheus, and then the next thing I remember is waking up to see you and him both standing over me. After that, I panicked… I wasn't thinking about anything but protecting you."

"You saved me more than a couple times," Ryuunosuke admitted. A pause fell between them.

"What was all that equipment I had to tear off?" asked Zero.

"That was…" Ryuunosuke started, trailing off. "I had you on life support. I didn't know if you would ever come out of it."

"How did you manage that?"

"I got the equipment from Sakura," she explained. "There was no way we could get you into a regular hospital, so… it had to be me. I went all over town to find a medical supplier… I took over the student store again, too, to make enough income for both of us… and… and…"

Zero embraced her without another word, calming her gently. The tears were finally coming, both from how difficult this whole ordeal had been on Ryuunosuke, and from how happy she was that he had come back to her.

"Sssh…" he cooed. "It's all right. I'm sorry to have put you through all of this. If I had known about Morpheus… well… you see why I don't stay in one place for too long. He's not the only one who has come after me."

"But… why you?" she sniffed. "Why are they after you?"

"It seems like they have me confused with another god," he explained with some disappointment. "It doesn't matter, though. I'm just glad he didn't hurt you."

"What about you?" Ryuunosuke asked. "You got blown up for me… again."

"That, I can take," he insisted. "As for our house, though…"

The two looked back on the smoking rubble that had once been their home. There was no rebuilding those ruins.

"It looks like I'll have to find us a new place. In the meantime, though…" Zero put his hand to his chin, thinking. He appeared at a loss as to what they might do until then.

"We still have the store," Ryuu suggested. "It's not much, but… I've lived there before. We can make it work for now, can't we?"

Zero thought about it.

"I suppose so," he smiled. "There's nowhere too small if it's you I'm sharing it with."

"You mean that?" she asked.

"Of course. I don't mind living humbly. Besides, I've got a lot of responsibilities I need to pick up again, now that I'm back."

Ryuunosuke pondered his words for a moment. She remembered all the people that had been coming to see her, asking where Zero was and telling her how he had helped them in one way or another. Nevermind that he was a nudist, a pervert, and a deranged god with a slew of unorthodox wisdom that was way outside the way any normal human's brain worked. Ryuunosuke had known for a long time that there was a lot more to him than what was on the surface, but… seeing that recognized by other people, seeing their lives changed for the better… that was something special.

"Hey, Zero, about that position…" she started.

"Hm?"

"A while ago, you asked me to be your apprentice, right? I wasn't too sure about committing to something like that, and I kinda decided to 'wait and see' what you'd be doing with the folks around here…"

Ryuunosuke took a moment to think back on her friends and classmates once more.

"Even though I never really agreed to bein' your disciple or nothin', over time, I guess… I kinda started to be seen that way, anyway. Folks see me as part of a pair with you, y'know? I even started helping you out with some of your work. I mean… I think I did… didn't I?"

"Undoubtedly," Zero assured.

"I guess, what I'm sayin' is… seein' how people are appreciatin' the work you do, and the way it's affectin' the world… I guess… I wouldn't mind being your disciple proper, y'know?"

* * *

 **SUBJECT R1 entry 2  
Result: Training in progress**


End file.
